Boxer Tyson Fury has previously been approached about standing as a candidate for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, which is currently seeking a challenger to Andy Burnham.
The i Paper can reveal that the heavyweight boxer was asked in the past by Reform if he would be willing to stand as their candidate for the Mayor of Lancashire.
Lancashire is expected to eventually get a directly elected mayor, although the final arrangements still depend on the government’s negotiations with the county over devolution plans.
However, Fury is understood to have rebuffed Reform’s offer as he no longer harbours ambitions to get involved in politics. This was confirmed by sources close to the boxer and Reform.
Fury revealed in 2015 that he was hoping to become the MP for Morecambe and was intending to stand as an independent candidate. He told the BBC at the time that there was too much focus on immigration and not enough on “our own brothers and sisters who are on the streets and abusing drugs and alcohol”.
“I want to make a change for the better for the place I live,” he said. “I believe that I will succeed because of the influence I have over the people from the town,” he added.
The heavyweight boxing champion, 37, lived in Morecambe, Lancashire, with his family for around 17 years before relocating to the Isle of Man last year citing privacy and security concerns.
The previous approach to Fury is an example of Reform’s strategy to seek high-profile backers that offer an alternative to career politicians, as well as those with more traditional political backgrounds.
Reform have begun the process of selecting a candidate to challenge the Mayor of Greater Manchester in the forthcoming Makerfield by-election.
The by-election has been triggered by the Labour MP Josh Simons, who confirmed on Thursday that he was resigning to make way for Burnham.
Some commentators think Reform could parachute in a nationally known figure because Farage has said the party will “throw absolutely everything” at the seat.
But there is also widespread speculation about whether Reform could use the by-election to elevate one of its newer ex-Conservative defectors, such as former Tory Party chairman Jake Berry.
Some party insiders expect the party to choose a local Wigan-area councillor or activist instead, arguing that a “local candidate” message would play well against Burnham being seen as returning to Westminster to pursue his leadership ambitions.
At last week’s local elections, Reform won the eight Makerfield wards with 50.4 per cent of the vote to Labour’s 22.7 per cent, with the Greens trailing on just under 11 per cent.
Rob Ford, a politics professor at Manchester university, described Burnham’s plan as a “high risk, high return” test of his popularity. Victory in Makerfield would be “exhibit A” that Burnham can pull voters back from Farage’s party, he said.
Bookmakers’ odds currently suggest a slightly higher chance of victory for Labour than Reform in the seat. John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, said Labour’s chances of holding Makerfield would have been below 5 per cent “if it were anybody other than Andy Burnham” standing there, given it was already one of the tightest Labour-Reform seats in the country.
The i Paper understands that there is no plan to block Burnham from being the party’s candidate and, while obviously there is still a process to go through, insiders say they anticipate he will be Labour’s pick for the by-election.
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