Andy Burnham swept to victory in the Makerfield by-election with 55% of the vote, turning his triumph into an immediate warning to Sir Keir Starmer: this is Labour’s “final chance to change”.
The new MP for Makerfield – who secured 24,937 votes against Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon on 15,696, a majority of 9,231 – declared that his win could mark a “turning point” for the country. He told supporters at the count that “politics isn’t working” and that he would never treat the seat as a “stepping stone”.
“Andy Burnham wins Makerfield by-election with 55% of vote, tells Labour it's 'final chance to change', challenging Starmer's leadership.”
Burnham’s victory margin was larger than Labour’s 2024 general election landslide in the constituency. The result came despite Reform UK’s hopes of humiliating him, with Deputy Leader Richard Tice claiming on BBC Breakfast that people “voted Burnham to guarantee that the prime minister is ousted”.
But Sir Keir congratulated Burnham and insisted the “tide is turning on Reform”, telling broadcasters: “They’ve reached probably the peak of their support, it’s going down.” He later told Labour staff members that a leadership contest could end up “tearing apart our party and our movement”.
Burnham, who will resign as Greater Manchester mayor – triggering a swift mayoral by-election – was joined at a Friday morning rally by former Transport Secretary Louise Haigh, who said he “could hardly have found a more difficult seat to challenge”.
In a direct message to Labour MPs, Burnham said: “We must hear it, we must act … this is a final chance to change.”
The by-election also saw the Conservatives win Aberdeen South from the SNP – their first Scottish Tory Westminster by-election victory in more than 50 years – while the SNP held Arbroath and Broughty Ferry. In Makerfield, the Conservatives lost their deposit with fewer than a thousand votes, as Reform cemented its position as the dominant right-wing force.
Burnham acknowledged that voters from the Greens, Liberal Democrats and Tories had lent him their votes after their own candidates’ shares collapsed. Restore Britain, the party founded by ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe, scored 3,111 votes (7%), a lower share than the BNP achieved in 2010.
Now the question is whether Burnham will trigger a formal leadership challenge. His allies have increased calls for Sir Keir to agree a “managed way forward” to avoid a bruising contest. The Prime Minister insists he will not walk away: “I’m not going to walk away.”