The founder of a publicly subsidized community café who wrote an open letter attacking Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has close ties to senior figures in Britain’s governing Labour Party—including Greater Manchester Mayor and Makerfield by-election (special election) candidate Andy Burnham, who personally amplified her complaint on social media.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Gemma Crompton, Founder and Director of The Hamlet Wigan CIC, wrote an open letter to Nigel Farage after the Reform UK leader visited her premises earlier this week. Farage visited the community café while campaigning in Makerfield, a parliamentary seat his party is vying to take from Labour. The Labour candidate, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, hopes to use it to launch a bid to replace Sir Keir Starmer as Labour leader and Prime Minister. Burnham and the media amplified Crompton’s letter on Friday—but without mentioning her ties to Labour figures, including Burnham. 🎯 IMPACT: Crompton accused Farage and his team of arriving at the café unannounced while Burnham was there, and creating an atmosphere that staff, trainees, and customers found “intimidating and overwhelming.” The Hamlet Wigan CIC is publicly subsidized, and Crompton—its sole director—received remuneration of £59,021 (~$79,300) in the most recent financial year, according to the organization’s own accounts signed off in December 2025. A typical salary in Wigan is around £34,000 a year. 📰 DETAIL: Crompton also appears to have ties to the Labour Party establishment in Wigan. A post from the Wigan Business account shows Crompton receiving a Gold award from Councillor David Molyneux, a Labour politician and former Council Leader. Crompton’s letter even admitted that the new Labour leader, Nazia Rehman, made her day “even more special” by confirming her cafe had been granted a 25-year lease with the full support of Wigan Council, i.e. local taxpayers. For Crompton to be using publicly subsidized premises for outward partisan campaigning so close to a special (by) election is almost unheard of, yet the corporate media has refused to reveal any of this information, instead portraying her as a small cafe owner who was overwhelmed by Mr. Farage having a cup of tea at her (or, rather, the taxpayers’) business. 💬 KEY QUOTE: “Why didn’t the BBC report that Gemma is close with the outgoing Labour council leader, who is one of Burnham’s bezzie [best] mates?” – Raheem Kassam, Editor-in-Chief of The National Pulse |
Why didn’t the BBC report that Gemma is close with the outgoing Labour council leader, who is one of Burnham’s bezzie mates? pic.twitter.com/FpN4BnHFo1
— Raheem J. Kassam (@RaheemKassam) May 22, 2026
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