BREAKINGBREAKING,
Greater Manchester mayor’s by-election win opens path for potential Labour leadership bid to unseat Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, has secured a decisive victory in the Makerfield by-election, a result that strengthens his position to challenge Labour leader Keir Starmer for the party’s top job and the premiership.
Burnham defeated Reform UK candidate Robert Kenyon by over 9,000 votes, winning 24,927 in total, according to early Friday results. Restore Britain’s Rebecca Shepherd followed, with Conservative Michael Winstanley, Green Party’s Sarah Wakefield, and Liberal Democrat Jake Austin trailing further behind.
“People know politics isn’t working,” Burnham stated in his victory address. “The country isn’t where it should be. Tonight could mark a turning point. From here, I will do everything possible to ensure Makerfield becomes synonymous with transformative change.”
The outcome is expected to either trigger Starmer’s resignation or catalyze a leadership contest between the Prime Minister, Burnham, and former Health Secretary Wes Streeting. Burnham, a 2015 Labour leadership runner-up, is viewed as a leading contender to succeed Starmer, with a recent Ipsos poll showing 25% of adults prefer him as PM compared to 12% for the incumbent.
If successful, Burnham would become the UK’s seventh prime minister since the Brexit referendum in 2016. Starmer, reeling from Labour’s poor performance in May’s local elections and a wave of ministerial resignations—including 20 departures in under two years—has dismissed calls to step down, calling any leadership contest a “disadvantage for the country.”
Burnham, known for his populist messaging on regional inequality and political elitism, campaigned on a platform to “change Labour to change politics and change the nation.” As mayor, he built a profile critiquing Westminster’s “London-centric” focus and neoliberal economic strategies, advocating for policies addressing industrial decline in northern England.
The by-election was triggered by Labour MP Josh Simons’s resignation to enable Burnham’s challenge. Approximately 75,000 voters participated in the contest, with a turnout of 58.75%—up from 52.4% in the 2024 general election.
