Andy Burnham wins overwhelming majority in by-elections/Opens way to challenge Starmer

2026-06-19 08:17:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Andy Burnham wins overwhelming majority in by-elections/Opens way to challenge
Andy Burnham has won the crucial Makerfield by-election with a landslide majority, paving the way for a challenge to Keir Starmer as prime minister.

The mayor of Greater Manchester defeated Reform UK candidate Robert Kenyon by 9,231 votes, and the new hard-line Restore Britain party came in third by a wide margin.

The Labour Party won 54% of the vote to Reform UK's 35%, while Restore Britain secured 7%. Turnout was 58.75%, six percentage points higher than in the general election, with 45,510 votes cast.

In his victory speech, Burnham said the result "could be a turning point" and that people had "voted for change, they voted for more power for the north and everywhere forgotten by Westminster".

He said this was the Labour Party's "last chance to change", adding: "There will be no second chances, but now is a chance from this result tonight to build a new politics based on unity and hope, moving away from the path that leads us towards a divisive politics of the kind we see in the United States."

"Now we have to take charge of this and get this country back on track, bring people together again and make things work properly."

Following the most significant by-election in modern British history, Burnham is widely expected to run for Number 10 if a formal leadership contest is triggered in the coming days.

However, his allies believe Starmer should be given time to set a timetable for his departure, the Guardian revealed on Thursday, with some in his team having persuaded ministers not to resign this weekend to stop the government descending into chaos.

The fact that Burnham secured 6,100 more votes than Reform and Restore combined will give a lot of value to his credentials for number 10 among Labour Party MPs and members.

Starmer congratulated Burnham on his victory, saying: "Voters chose the Labour Party's campaign of hope and optimism over division and hatred."

The former health secretary appears to have won the support of an anti-reform coalition of voters from across the spectrum, with the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Greens winning just 3% of the vote combined. In 2024, the three parties together won 22% of the vote in this constituency.

The "King of the North", who was first elected to parliament almost exactly 25 years ago and served in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, will return to Westminster nine years after leaving.

Addressing hundreds of supporters who cheered him on at the Life convention centre in Wigan, Burnham said Makerfield "will never be a stepping stone for me - but rather it will be my touchstone: A Makerfield trial at the heart of British politics will ensure that the places Westminster has neglected now get justice".