The victory rally ended with Andy Burnham doing a runner. Hemmed in by cameras and giggling supporters on the turf at Ashton Town FC, the new MP for Makerfield dodged Sky’s Beth Rigby shouting “Are you going to become the new prime minister?” and skipped past temporary toilets, weaving through photographers at a trot that looked almost like a jog.
Hours earlier, Burnham had trounced Reform UK to win the seat with a majority of 9,231 – nearly double that of his predecessor – and a 54.8% vote share that dwarfed all opponents combined. Nigel Farage failed to show his face at the count in Wigan after his candidate was pushed into distant second. In his victory speech, Burnham said: “Everyone knows that politics isn’t working. Everyone can feel that the country isn’t where it should be. Tonight could just be a turning point.”
“Andy Burnham’s landslide Makerfield win triggers Labour MPs to call for Keir Starmer to step aside.”
That word – “turning point” – is now the most dreaded in Downing Street. Labour MPs across factions, generations and ministerial ranks are increasingly unified in the belief that Burnham’s destination of Downing Street is assured, and that the only open question is the path. The word being used more and more to describe the inevitable leadership contest is “coronation”. One complicating factor could be Wes Streeting, who quit as health secretary last month and insists he has the backing of 81 MPs required to trigger a contest. But he is likely to face pressure to tuck in behind Burnham.
Sir Keir Starmer has reiterated he will be a candidate, and under Labour rules as incumbent he is automatically on the ballot of party members, guaranteeing a contest. But the calls for him to go are mounting. Labour grandee Harriet Harman invoked Boris Johnson’s resignation speech, saying the “herd is moving, they are stampeding” away from Starmer. Former cabinet minister Alan Johnson told LBC: “It’s over, Keir.” Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander urged the PM to step aside in calls with top ministers; Energy Security Secretary Ed Miliband and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood were said to have delivered a similar message after Labour’s local elections mauling last month.
Burnham himself has not directly called for Starmer to go, but his campaign manager Louise Haigh was blunt: “I hope the prime minister takes the weekend to really reflect on the result here. All the evidence suggests that a contest would be brutal, it would be unpleasant and it would be very unlikely the PM would win.” Asked if Burnham had a leadership campaign ready, she answered: “Yes.”
During the by-election, Burnham committed to the economic rules set by Chancellor Rachel Reeves and to Labour’s manifesto promise not to raise income tax, VAT or National Insurance. He has advocated bringing water “back under stronger public control”, pointing to Greater Manchester’s bus network as a model, and suggested replacing inheritance tax with a “national care levy” so care is free and the wealthiest pay most. At his rally on Friday, he said he hoped to “lay out a new path for Britain” – a path that, for Starmer, appears to end in a matter of days or weeks.
Among the quirkier moments at the count: Burnham was flanked by a giant fox – animal rights campaigner Robert Pownall of Protect the Wild, who scored just 18 votes – and a towering bin, the joke candidate Count Binface. But for the prime minister, the joke could soon be over.