CenterHigh
Financial Times - WorldNews report · Jun 18, 9:06 PM
Burnham hoping to win UK by-election as Starmer’s future hangs in the balance
Victory for the Labour leadership hopeful would herald further upheaval in British politics
← Today's headlines
5 sources checked · Left, Center, and Right included · 2h ago
Different Spin
Burnham hoping to win UK by-election as Starmer’s future hangs in the balance
Victory for the Labour leadership hopeful would herald further upheaval in British politics
2 Left2 Center1 Right
DIFFERENT SPIN
HOW EACH SIDE WORDED IT
Left-leaningCounting under way in Makerfield byelection as Burnham seeks a route to replace Starmer – UK politics live
The Guardian - PoliticsMixed
countingbyelectionseeks
Right-leaningCenter-rightPolls close in crucial Makerfield by-election as Burnham waits to see if voters have sent him back to Westminster to challenge Starmer - or will Reform ruin hi...
Daily MailMixed
pollsclosecrucial
Center baseline · 
Financial Times - WorldHighBurnham hoping to win UK by-election as Starmer’s future hangs in the balance
As of June 19, 2026 at 12:06 AM, this is how Optics News reads the wording differences in this story.
What happened Victory for the Labour leadership hopeful would herald further upheaval in British politics.
The headline split The left frames it as "Counting under way in Makerfield byelection as Burnham seeks a route to replace Starmer –...". The right frames it as "Polls close in crucial Makerfield by-election as Burnham waits to see if voters have sent...".
Match confidence Medium confidence. 5 sources across 3 bias buckets. Useful framing signal — check the source list before sharing.
Same-event confidenceMedium
5 sources across 3 bias buckets agree on the event.
Framing confidenceStrong
85/99 — headlines create a clearly different first impression.
WHAT EACH SIDE EMPHASIZED
Left / center-leftTories win Aberdeen South by-election as SNP concedes defeat
The Herald (Scotland) · Center-left · News report
CenterBurnham hoping to win UK by-election as Starmer’s future hangs in the balance
Financial Times - World · Center · News report
Right / center-rightPolls close in crucial Makerfield by-election as Burnham waits to see if voters have sent him back to Westminster to challenge St...
Daily Mail · Center-right · News report
SEE THE HEADLINES
Open source
Center-leftMostly Factual
The Herald (Scotland)News report · Jun 19, 12:06 AM
Tories win Aberdeen South by-election as SNP concedes defeat
The Scottish National Party has conceded defeat to the Conservatives in the Aberdeen South by-election.
LeftMixed
The Guardian - PoliticsNews report · Jun 18, 11:50 PM
Counting under way in Makerfield byelection as Burnham seeks a route to replace Starmer – UK politics live
countingbyelectionseeks
Result expected around 3am as Labour’s Greater Manchester mayor hopes a win over Reform UK will help force the prime minister to step aside Polls close in Makerfield byelection as Andy Burn...
CenterMostly Factual
Al Jazeera EnglishNews report · Jun 18, 11:32 PM
Vote counting begins in high-stakes UK by-election
Ballots are being counted in the UK’s closely watched Makerfield by-election.
Center-rightMixed
Daily MailNews report · Jun 18, 11:11 PM
Polls close in crucial Makerfield by-election as Burnham waits to see if voters have sent him back to Westminster to challenge Starmer - or will Reform ruin his PM bid?
pollsclosecrucialby-electionwaits
The Greater Manchester mayor has spent the past four weeks campaigning as Labour's candidate in the seat as he seeks a return to the House of Commons.
Details85/99 Wording Gap · Medium confidence · 5 sources
85/99 Wording GapMedium confidence5 sources · 3 bias bucketsLive match · 5 sources · 3 buckets · comparable news formatFormats: News report
SOURCE MAP CHANGES
Jun 18, 9:06 PM: Financial Times - World joined the source map.
Jun 18, 11:11 PM: Daily Mail joined the source map.
Jun 18, 11:32 PM: Al Jazeera English joined the source map.
Jun 18, 11:50 PM: The Guardian - Politics joined the source map.
Now: Wording Gap is 85/99 and story health is live match · 5 sources · 3 buckets · comparable news format.