Burnham wins Makerfield vote as Starmer faces Labour challenge

Andy Burnham won the Makerfield by-election on Thursday, giving the former Greater Manchester mayor a seat in Parliament and a platform to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer for Labour’s leadership. Al Jazeera reported that the result has intensified questions over Starmer’s future after a difficult period for his government and Labour’s standing in the polls.

Burnham, 56, secured 24,927 votes in the contest, according to Al Jazeera. He defeated Reform candidate Robert Kenyon by more than 9,000 votes, with Reform finishing second and Restore, the Conservatives, Greens and Liberal Democrats trailing behind.

Burnham has said he intends to challenge Starmer, 62, for the party leadership, Al Jazeera reported. Starmer said on Friday that he would contest any leadership race and would not “walk away.”

Leadership rules set a high bar

Under Labour Party rules cited by Al Jazeera, a sitting MP seeking to challenge the leader needs nominations from 20 percent of Labour MPs. For Burnham, that would mean support from 81 Labour lawmakers, along with backing from some local party branches and affiliated groups such as trade unions.

Al Jazeera reported that the process could take longer if Starmer refuses to stand aside or if other candidates enter the race. Burnham has twice run unsuccessfully for Labour leader, in 2010 and 2015.

Speaking early Friday after his victory, Burnham said voters in the area had chosen change and greater power for northern England and other places he described as overlooked by Westminster, according to Al Jazeera.

Starmer’s position weakens

Starmer led Labour to a large parliamentary majority in the 2024 general election, but Al Jazeera described that victory as broad and fragile because many Labour MPs won on narrow margins. Since taking office, Starmer has faced policy reversals, political missteps and pressure from Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform Party, the outlet reported.

Al Jazeera said most polls now show Starmer as the least popular UK leader since polling began. In Makerfield, several Labour voters told the outlet they preferred Burnham as leader or believed he would do a better job as prime minister.

Cameron Graham, a 31-year-old factory worker and trade union member, told Al Jazeera that his 2024 vote was for Labour rather than Starmer. Howard Bond, a retired sales manager and lifelong Labour voter, said he believed Burnham was better suited to the job and rejected Reform’s campaign claims about Burnham’s local ties.

Reform pressure remains

Although Reform lost the seat, Al Jazeera reported that polling suggests the party could win a general election if one were held now. Immigration remained a major theme in the by-election campaign, with Reform and Restore activists travelling into Makerfield from across the country, according to the outlet.

Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, told Al Jazeera that Starmer had struggled to communicate and had failed to offer a vision capable of inspiring MPs or the public. Bale said Burnham had shown he could connect with voters and defeat Farage’s party in a seat Reform might otherwise have expected to win.

Pollster John Curtice told Al Jazeera before the vote that Britain had become a five-party country, with Conservatives, Greens, Liberal Democrats, Labour and Reform each drawing significant support. He said older patterns based on class, race and age had weakened after Brexit, while cultural issues had become as prominent as economic ones.

For Makerfield residents, the result ended weeks of intense attention from campaigners and journalists. Local people told Al Jazeera the by-election had brought unusual pressure to the town, which sits between Wigan and Manchester.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.