What’s a smack barm and pea wet got to do with politics?

It’s no secret that Makerfield has been at the heart of political attention since former Labour MP, Josh Simons, announced he was stepping down.

Mr Simons said he was giving up his seat so the mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham could enter Parliament and “drive the change our country is crying out for”.

Since then, it’s been all eyes on Makerfield, for an unconventional by-election that may decide not only the fate of the constituency, but the country.

If he wins, some of Mr Burnham’s supporters believe he has a path to becoming Prime Minister before Parliament breaks for the summer recess.

So, what have smack barms got to do with all this?

On Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the panel (Josh Simons, broadcaster Jo Coburn, and author Will Self) discussed the political storm.

Naturally, the conversation turned to Mr Burnham, the by-election and Mr Simons’ part in it.

Josh Simons was most recently the Labour MP for Makerfield and left the Commons on May 18 (Image: Roger Harris/UK Parliament)

When asked for his thoughts, political commentator Mr Self began by talking about when he last visited Wigan and had a smack barm.

He described a smack barm as the “end bits of chips out of the bottom of the pan”.

However, he didn’t get it quite right, and may have been confusing it with a scrap barm.

Served in between a classic barm, a smack barm and pea wet is a potato special, as it’s known in Bolton, with pea juice providing a condiment of sorts.

Barms aside, Mr Self said he paid just 10p for a smack barm on his last visit, clearly quite a while ago.

“It’s a poor constituency, it’s a very poor constituency,” he said.

According to Mr Self, Labour is searching for an “organic figure to unite them with their past, who’s going to cancel out time”.

He said the ‘Burnham factor’ is rooted in a kind of nostalgia for an idealised past that never really existed.

Andy Burnham is one of the party’s most popular politicians, dubbed the “King of the North” (Image: Stock)

Mr Simons defended his decision to resign his seat and said: “Over the last 40 years, the basic way that we run our economy is shafting my constituents.”

“Still eating smack barms,” Mr Self retorted.

“They’re now probably £1.50,” said Mr Simons.

“What are they supposed to feel if it’s £1.50 for a smack barm?”

We put it to our Bolton readers, as barms are often a highly debated topic, have you ever tried a smack barm?

Or should this speciality be left with our friends down the road?