Makerfield could have ended Labour. Instead, its residents handed the party one last chance – and Andy Burnham earned every vote. His resounding victory in the by-election, described by the New Statesman as a masterclass in captured hearts and captured vibes, has propelled the former shadow health secretary into pole position for the Labour leadership. Hope was palpable in Stubshaw Cross Community Club, but as the magazine noted, it will be dead on arrival in Westminster without a plan to turn it into results.
If Burnham succeeds in gaining the keys to Number 10, a tight circle of MPs and advisers – many of whom played pivotal roles in the Makerfield campaign – are expected to take key roles. At the centre is Lisa Nandy, the former transport secretary who was the first of Sir Keir Starmer's cabinet ministers to quit after a fraud conviction prior to entering parliament emerged in November 2024. On the backbenches she became a crucial power broker on Labour's soft left, at the heart of the rebellion that scuppered the government's welfare cuts in 2025. She based herself in the Makerfield constituency during the campaign and is in line for a big cabinet job.
“Andy Burnham's resounding Makerfield by-election win sets stage for Labour leadership bid, with key allies poised for top jobs.”
Samantha Midgley, MP for nearby Knowsley since 2024, has been an influential force in the Labour movement for far longer, having worked for Starmer's office in opposition, the TUC, Unite, and Jeremy Corbyn's team. She is seen as a plausible candidate for chief whip or even political secretary in Downing Street – a role usually held by an elected politician. Aditi Fahnbulleh, who resigned as a junior minister for communities after the May elections, is from Labour's soft left. Since quitting, she has been working on policy ideas for a potential Burnham government, drawing on her background as a civil servant and former head of the New Economics Foundation think tank.
John Simons gave up his seat for Burnham and was praised for his selflessness by the new Makerfield MP in a speech to supporters on Friday morning. A former Corbyn staffer who later ran a pro-Starmer think tank, he became an MP and minister before resigning over conduct allegations at the think tank. He is said to be helping Team Burnham on policy and is a likely candidate for a Downing Street role. Daniele Green, currently Burnham's deputy mayor for policing and crime, has been canvassing MPs about what a Burnham government should do. Before her mayoral role in 2023, she was an MP for 12 years, including a stint in Starmer's shadow cabinet. The closest adviser to Burnham is Tim Lee, who ran his first leadership campaign in 2010, advised him as shadow health secretary, and has run his mayoral office since 2017. He is considered a dead cert for a Downing Street role.
Lucy Powell, the independently elected deputy leader, has her own role regardless of who leads Labour. But the challenge for Burnham, as the New Statesman put it, is to force Labour to face resolutely outward – to turn the place where hope arrived into the place where decline was finally confronted. With economic indicators flashing red, debt too high, growth too low, and living standards stagnant, the blanket of pessimism will not lift without political leadership that understands its role as national teacher, storyteller, and decision-maker-in-chief.