The residents of Makerfield are about to find themselves at the epicentre of the political universe as a by-election battle that could decide the next prime minister is set to take place on their doorstep.
The constituency, which is home to around 76,000 voters in the suburbs of Wigan and nearby former mining towns and villages, has not traditionally been a hotbed of political intrigue.
A safe Labour seat since it was created in 1983, it has recently seen Reform UK sweep the board in local council elections, like many other parts of the country.
Reform's rise is one of the factors that has led to pressure on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to resign, with many of his own MPs calling for him to stand down and start a contest for a new Labour leader.
The PM is digging in - and steadfastly refusing to give in to demands to set a timetable for his departure.
Until yesterday, one of the favourites to replace Sir Keir, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, did not have a way to challenge him, as he is not an MP.
Which is where Makerfield comes in.
The area's current MP, Josh Simons, has announced he is standing down to make way for Burnham.
The stakes could not be higher for the mayor, who has made no secret of his desire to be PM, but will face a stiff challenge from Reform in the upcoming by-election, with Nigel Farage promising that his party will "throw everything" at the contest.
Burnham does not have to stand down as mayor to stand in the by-election and will only resign from that position if he wins and becomes an MP again.
But losing the contest would seriously diminish his reputation and could make a Labour leadership contest less likely, in the short term.
Burnham has a long track record as a Labour MP and minister. Before becoming Greater Manchester mayor in 2017, he was elected four times as MP for the Leigh constituency.
But many voters in Makerfield, irrespective of the parties they support, who have spoken to the BBC believe he will face a difficult challenge this time round.
One such voter, nursery worker Penelope Nelson, describes herself and her family as "fans" of Burnham.
"He knows what the people want and he stands for that and I think that's great," she said.
She said she would like to think he would win the by-election, but added that she believed "he'll have a fight on his hands".
Stan Crook, who is retired, told BBC Radio Manchester: "This has been a Labour stronghold since I've been voting 45 years ago, but I do think he'll really struggle with this one.
"I think the biggest issue is Labour in general have let the whole country down, not just this [area]. Nobody's got any faith in Keir Starmer... he's not done enough."
He said he was sceptical of Burnham's motives, believing he was standing for election to "feather his own cap - hoping to get into Westminster".
He also criticised the mayor's involvement in plans to introduce a Clean Air Zone scheme during lockdown, even though they were eventually dropped in 2022 and an alternative proposal was signed off by the government.
"I think Reform will take over. They really jumped in here in a massive way."
But Alan Entwistle, who works as a carpet cleaner, said the policies Burnham had implemented while mayor were "up there"
"He's done brilliantly with the buses and everything else," he said. "He knows what he's doing."
Gabriel Parkinson, who works in the charity sector, said she favoured the Green Party but would vote for Burnham in this by-election as "the choice we have against Reform".
If Burnham succeeds, a Labour leadership contest is likely to follow, potentially leading to a new occupant of Number 10 by the autumn.
Sources have told the BBC that Thursday, 18 June is the likely date the by-election will be held - during the same week that Sir Keir is due to be at a G7 summit in France.
Burnham has been given permission by officers on Labour's National Executive Committee to stand in the candidate selection process in the Makerfield by-election.
He will now have to be approved by the local Labour Party in Makerfield.
Burnham was re-elected for a second term as Greater Manchester mayor in May 2021 and a third in May 2024, with 63.4% of the vote - in Wigan, he received 66% of the vote.
Polling expert Sir John Curtice told Politico Labour would have "less than 5% chance" in the Makerfield by-election "if it were anyone other than Andy Burnham" as a candidate.
He added: "If [Burnham] manages to win this, he will certainly be demonstrating his ability to win constituencies you would expect most Labour politicians to lose at the moment."
Outgoing MP Josh Simons told the BBC that he was confident Burnham could win the seat, but admitted there was a "really tough fight" on his hands.
At the general election in 2024, Simons won the seat with 45.2% of the vote, a majority of 5,399. Reform came in second with 31.8% of the vote, with the Conservatives in third, Lib Dems in fourth and Greens in fifth.
The constituency boundaries were changed slightly in that election, but the seat has been Labour-held for decades.
This seat is 29th on Reform's target list and the party needs a swing of just over 6.7% to win it.
There are no precise figures for how the parties performed in Makerfield during the local elections because the ward boundaries do not fully align with the constituency boundaries.
But roughly, Reform pulled in 50% of the vote share, with Labour at 27%, the Greens at 10%, Conservatives at 7% and Lib Dems at 4%.
Reform gained 24 seats on Wigan Council, including in two wards in Ashton-in-Makefield.
Makerfield constituent Helen Raymond admitted to being "quite surprised" by how strongly the Reform vote grew at the local elections.
"But I think that maybe was a reaction to the current Labour leadership rather than giving up on Labour completely so I'm quietly optimistic," she said, pointing to Burnham's involving in the development of Leigh Sport Village and his response to illegal rubbish dumps as evidence he "does care about this area".
Richard Tice, Reform UK's deputy leader, said the party was aiming to "make Burnham history" and would be "throwing everything possible" at ensuring a "seismic" win in this by-election.
Meanwhile the Green Party has said it has started the selection process for its candidate.
The party won February's by-election in Gorton and Denton and made big gains in Manchester in last week's local elections.
But the party has downplayed its prospects in Makerfield.
Former Green leader Caroline Lucas said she hoped the party would not contest the seat in order to give Burnham the best chances of seeing off the challenge from Reform.
"There are times when it's more important to put country before party. This is one of them," she wrote on X.
