The morning after Andy Burnham’s emphatic victory in the Makerfield byelection, the prime minister made clear he would not be stepping aside. Speaking on Friday, Sir Keir Starmer congratulated the former Manchester mayor but insisted he would fight any contest for the Labour leadership.
Burnham’s win on 19 June 2026 was a stunning blow to Reform UK, which had been expected to take the seat. Reform finished second in the 2024 general election there and had recently won all of the council seats. Its candidate, Robert Kenyon, would be heading to Westminster, Neal Lawson argued, had Reform faced any other politician. Lawson, director of the cross-party campaign organisation Compass, described Burnham as “probably the only Labour candidate who could have held Makerfield” and “the only candidate for the party’s leadership who can defeat Reform”.
“Andy Burnham's emphatic Makerfield byelection win prompts Keir Starmer to insist he will not stand down.”
Labour, Lawson wrote, would have been “in total despair had it lost this byelection”, calling the situation “an existential crisis”. The victory gives the party a lifeline, he said, but the crisis will not change. “Only Starmer knows whether he will go with grace,” Lawson added, suggesting a “dignified and orderly transition in September” would be best.
Starmer, however, has no such intention. Acknowledging Burnham’s triumph, he declared he will not stand down as prime minister and intends to challenge Burnham in a leadership contest. The path is now set for a bitter battle that will determine the direction of the Labour party and the government.