Giant fox appears alongside Andy Burnham during Makerfield results announcement

Not many people can say they were in the room when Andy Burnham became the next MP of Makerfield – but a giant furry fox can.

The mayor of Greater Manchester easily defeated more than a dozen other candidates after securing 24,937 votes – a majority of about 55%.

But among his foes was animal rights campaigner Robert Pownall, otherwise known as the tall fox standing next to Burnham this morning.

Pownall, the founder of Protect the Wild, scored just 18 votes in the by-election.

He wrote on the newsletter service Substack in May that he would wear a fox suit while out campaigning – and still wear it to Parliament if he won.

As much as the costume is ‘terrifying looking’, he wore it for one reason: ‘Because I simply do not trust this government to deliver for animals.’

‘They’ve already U-turned on banning animal trophy imports, abandoned plans to ban foie gras imports and allowed two more years of badger culling despite manifesto promises suggesting the exact opposite.’

After Pownall’s defeat, Protect the Wild shared a photograph of the candidate holding a sign reading: ‘Protect British Wildlife’.

On Facebook this morning, the group said: ‘We need a Govt that actually takes action for British wildlife, not letting developers do as they please. We need the Hunting Act properly strengthened and enforced.

‘We need a commitment that badger culling will never return. We need to see an end to bird shooting in this country.

‘We need so much better.’

Hunting is not illegal in England – shooting deer, rabbits and some other animals is allowed during hunting seasons – but fox hunting is banned.

But campaigners have long criticised the law for allowing trail hunting, where dogs follow a laid scent trail, usually of fox urine, instead of a fox.

Protect the Wild says hunters claim they have left ‘scent trails’ and are merely following them through the woods with hounds.

Pownall is no stranger to politics – or sweaty animal suits. He stood in the May Scottish parliament elections dressed as a giant gannet.

He threw on the seabird suit to bring attention to the guga hunt, a centuries-old tradition in northern Scotland that sees thousands of gannets being killed for their meat.

Burnham, widely seen as a possible contender to replace Sir Keir Starmer, certainly had some strange company next to him this morning.

To his right (so, the non-fox one) was a towering bin. Count Binface, a joke candidate who has lost against many a prominent politician, hoped to beat Burnham with his pledge to slash taxes.

‘And raise everyone else’s,’ his policy manifesto said.

Count Binface, of the Count Binface Party, also pledged to cap the price of 99 Flake ice-creams to 99p and ensure train wifi actually works.

On his official X account, Count Binface shared a photo of himself on the stage of Edge Wigan with Burnham and Pownall.

‘Wherever there’s a bin in Britain,’ he wrote, ‘a fox is sure to follow.’

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