Andy Burnham won the Makerfield by-election early on Friday, securing 24,927 votes and a majority of 9,231 over Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon, who took 15,696. The victory returns the Greater Manchester mayor to Westminster after nine years and propels him into a direct challenge to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “People here have voted for change, they have voted for more power for the North and everywhere forgotten by Westminster,” Burnham said in his victory speech. “They have voted for hope. Now let’s give that back to them.” He warned his party it has a “final chance to change” and must “act upon it”. The result came just after 3am on a turnout of 58.75%.
Burnham’s win follows weeks of preparation for a possible leadership run. He has brought in three economic heavyweights – former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane, former Office for Budget Responsibility chair Richard Hughes, and crossbench peer Jim O’Neill – to advise him, in a move seen as an attempt to reassure markets before his return to parliament. The extent of their involvement in drafting economic plans is not yet clear.
“Andy Burnham wins Makerfield by-election with 24,927 votes, setting up a leadership challenge to Keir Starmer.”
Starmer has insisted he will fight any challenge, and has been building up a war chest for a leadership campaign. Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting has also made clear he will stand in any contest. Burnham’s supporters want the prime minister to set out an “orderly and managed transition” of power. Former cabinet minister Louise Haigh said she hopes Starmer will “do what’s best for both the country and the Labour Party”. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, a close Burnham ally, said “there will be a conversation” with the prime minister, but added: “That’s not for tonight.” Asked if she would resign to pressure Starmer, Nandy said: “I’m not going to resign, of course not.”
If Burnham wins the seat, he is expected to attempt to oust Starmer within weeks, first trying to persuade him to stand down. If Starmer declines to set a date for his departure, Burnham is likely to launch or join a contest, with his team confident of more than the necessary 81 MPs backing him. Allies of Starmer have warned the country and economy could be destabilised by a leadership contest.
Britain is likely set for a summer of Labour civil war as the rival camps fight it out for the leadership of the party and the nation. Liz Truss, the former prime minister, released a YouTube video on Wednesday titled “Labour’s Secret Plan: Labour PANICKING as Reform surges in Makerfield By-Election”, in which she claimed to expose a plot by Burnham to return to Westminster and challenge Starmer. Truss lives a half-life split between the real world and the meta-world, mostly confined to the small attic studio where she films her YouTube show.