Andy Burnham is under increasing pressure to distance himself from his less reality-based online supporters – dubbed “Fandies” and condemned as “extremists” by rival camps. As Simon Danczuk told Guido in yesterday’s Sun:

“I’ve been really upset by it, and I’ve got pretty thick skin. All I’ve done is make some polite comments on Twitter and I get attacked by people swearing and abusing me. Some of the remarks I’ve received have been outrageous. It’s sad that it is reaching this level. These extremists are not doing Andy’s campaign any favours. He should distance himself from these people.”

Worth reading the Speccie on how many ‘Fandies’ are being orchestrated by Twitter’s favourite doctor of Irish feminism, Eoin Clarke, who was called out for “bullying” Danczuk last week.

Burnham’s team appears to have open channels with Clarke, indeed many of his MP supporters regularly share Clarke’s dubious content online. A Burnham aide even praised Clarke’s work to Buzzfeed: “Some of it’s quite creative; he’s a big fan of Andy’s”. Here is some of that “creative” work:

It's pretty clear which direction Andy Burnham is pitching, looking at his campaign material. pic.twitter.com/ITG28IZzpN

— Paul Richards (@Labourpaul) June 1, 2015

Is this the message Burnham is trying to get across?