A man was filmed climbing out of a small van, pulling a “Vote Andy” poster from its stake outside a house in the Makerfield constituency, and driving off with it. The CCTV footage, shared by Andy Burnham on X on Sunday afternoon, showed a second similar incident moments later. The Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, who is standing in the 18 June by-election, wrote: “Someone’s up to no good in Makerfield… Whoever this is, we would appreciate your help on the 19th of June as we’ll have about 650 stakes to take down, but could you give it a rest for now?” Despite the light-hearted tone, Burnham’s team has referred the matter to Greater Manchester Police, according to The Telegraph. A separate image showed seven more garden stakes supporting Burnham or Labour that had been removed and placed in the back of a van. It is illegal to remove any political placard from private property.
The by-election, triggered after Labour MP Josh Simons resigned to allow Burnham to run for Parliament, is expected to be a tight race between Burnham and Reform UK candidate Robert Kenyon, a plumber and local councillor. A Survation poll last week showed Burnham leading with 49% to Kenyon’s 39%, with Rebecca Shepherd of Restore Britain on 8%. But Kenyon has criticised Burnham’s record as mayor, saying while Manchester “thrives we’re struggling to survive in Wigan”. During a BBC Question Time special in the constituency, Kenyon warned against using Makerfield as a “stepping stone” and called for a “big move away from career politicians”.
“Andy Burnham's campaign posters torn down in Makerfield as he seeks by-election win to challenge Starmer's leadership.”
Burnham, who would need to win the by-election to become an MP, made clear his ambitions on the programme. Pressed about restoring public trust, he criticised “point-scoring before problem-solving” in Westminster. When asked about a potential Labour leadership contest, he said: “I think Wes Streeting seems to have launched a leadership contest, so if that is running I would seek to join it, but I’d have to persuade members of the Parliamentary Labour Party to do the same.” Streeting has confirmed he would enter any contest and encouraged people to back Burnham in Makerfield, wanting a “proper contest with the best candidates on the field”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has defied calls from some Labour MPs to step down after poor election results last month, with no formal challenge launched. A No 10 spokesperson said: “The prime minister will not walk away from the mandate he was given just two years ago to build a stronger, fairer Britain.” Justice Secretary David Lammy said Starmer had his “full support” and “a mandate from the British people less than two years ago”. Attorney General Richard Hermer said the prime minister had “consistently been underestimated” and “always proven his critics wrong”.
Any challenger must be an MP and have the backing of 81 Labour MPs to trigger a leadership contest. Burnham acknowledged the hurdle: “I can’t do anything unless I’m lucky enough to get the support of people here.” The vote on 18 June will determine whether he gets that chance.