Burnham takes Makerfield seat as Labour leadership pressure grows
Andy Burnham won the Makerfield by-election, giving the Greater Manchester mayor a Commons seat needed for a potential challenge to Keir Starmer.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
Andy Burnham has won the Makerfield by-election in northern England, securing the House of Commons seat he would need to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer for Labour’s leadership. Al Jazeera reported that the result increases pressure on Starmer after months of unrest inside the governing party.
Results reported early Friday showed Burnham, Labour’s candidate and the outgoing mayor of Greater Manchester, received 24,927 votes. He defeated Reform UK candidate Robert Kenyon by more than 9,000 votes, according to Al Jazeera.
Rebecca Shepherd of Restore Britain finished a distant third, Al Jazeera reported. She was followed by Conservative candidate Michael Winstanley, Green Party candidate Sarah Wakefield and Liberal Democrat candidate Jake Austin.
In his victory speech, Burnham said, “Everyone knows that politics is not working,” according to Al Jazeera. He added that Makerfield could become “synonymous with bringing about the change this country needs.”
Al Jazeera reported that Burnham’s win could trigger Starmer’s resignation or lead to a Labour leadership contest involving Starmer, Burnham and Wes Streeting, the former health secretary. Burnham is widely viewed as a strong favourite to become prime minister if he challenges Starmer, according to the report.
Pressure on Starmer
Starmer has faced rising calls to step down despite leading Labour to a large general election victory in 2024, Al Jazeera reported. The pressure intensified after Labour suffered heavy losses in local and regional elections in May.
Al Jazeera reported that 20 ministers have left Starmer’s government in less than two years. Nearly half of them either expressed no confidence in his leadership or broke with him over policy, including Streeting, according to the report.
Starmer has rejected calls to resign and has said he would fight any leadership challenge, Al Jazeera reported. He has also argued that a contest would be a “bad thing for the country.”
An Ipsos poll published earlier in the week found that 25 percent of British adults named Burnham as their preferred prime minister, compared with 12 percent for Starmer, according to Al Jazeera. If Burnham were to replace Starmer, he would become the United Kingdom’s seventh prime minister since the 2016 Brexit vote.
Burnham’s return to Westminster
Burnham previously served as a minister under Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, Al Jazeera reported. He was also an early favourite in Labour’s 2015 leadership race before finishing second to Jeremy Corbyn.
As Greater Manchester mayor, Burnham built support in northern England with criticism of Westminster and arguments about industrial decline, according to Al Jazeera. The report said he has described the British political system as too focused on London and has criticised economic policies he said failed to benefit poorer regions.
Burnham was first elected mayor in 2017 and won re-election in 2021 and 2024, Al Jazeera reported. He campaigned in Makerfield on a pledge to “change Labour” in order to “change politics and change the country.”
The by-election was triggered when Labour’s Josh Simons resigned the seat last month to allow Burnham to run, according to Al Jazeera. About 75,000 people were eligible to vote in the district, which is about 320km northwest of London, and turnout was 58.75 percent, up from 52.4 percent at the 2024 general election.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.