Voters in Makerfield go to the polls today in a crunch by-election that could trigger a challenge to Sir Keir Starmer's leadership. Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, is standing as Labour's candidate with the hope of returning to Parliament to oust the prime minister, according to the Evening Standard.
The by-election comes as Starmer faces pressure from multiple fronts. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, has called on him and his potential Labour leadership rivals to cut welfare spending and redirect the savings to defence, as reported by Sky News.
“Voters go to polls in Makerfield by-election where Andy Burnham hopes to oust Starmer as Labour leader.”
Meanwhile, the Labour Party is mourning the death of Roy Hattersley, the former deputy leader, who has died at the age of 93. Paying tribute, Starmer said Hattersley "was a giant of the Labour movement". Hattersley served as deputy leader under Neil Kinnock for nine years after Labour's 1983 defeat, and was a cabinet minister under James Callaghan. Lord Kinnock described him as "a socialist of deep conviction", while Sir Tony Blair called him "one of the greats of the Labour Party for decades". The Sheffield-born politician entered Parliament in 1964 as MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook, a post he held for more than three decades, and was made a life peer as Baron Hattersley of Sparkbrook after leaving the Commons in 1997.
But Starmer's own legacy is under scrutiny. An article on UnHerd criticises his government's support for the Assisted Dying Bill, which was brought as a Private Members' Bill and ran out of time in the House of Lords after 1,200 amendments were tabled. The article notes that another Labour MP, Lauren Edwards, will re-introduce the same bill after coming second in the Private Members' Bill ballot, and that under existing procedure, if it passes the Commons again, it cannot be blocked in the Lords.
The by-election result will be closely watched as a bellwether of Starmer's standing within his party and the country.