Labour’s Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, has won a special election for the Makerfield seat in Parliament, a result that puts him in a position to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Burnham defeated Rob Kenyon of Reform UK in the north-west England constituency.
The result, announced on Friday, strengthens Burnham’s standing as the leading contender to replace Starmer as Labour leader and prime minister. Burnham said, “if people put their trust in me, I will change politics”, and added that he would take the fight for change “as high as I can possibly take it”.
Starmer’s popularity has fallen sharply since he led Labour to a landslide general election victory in July 2024. He has struggled to deliver the economic growth he promised, improve public services and ease the cost of living crisis. He has also faced repeated setbacks, including his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, described in the report as a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as the UK’s ambassador to the United States.
Labour’s poor showing in the local elections in May led many party lawmakers to demand Starmer’s resignation. He has refused to step down, though senior colleagues have been trying to force a change. Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary in May, saying that “where we need vision, we have a vacuum”. Soon after, Labour MP Josh Simons resigned from the Makerfield seat, triggering the special election and opening the way for Burnham to return to Parliament.
Under Britain’s parliamentary system, a governing party can change its leader during a term, with the winner becoming prime minister without a national election. Under Labour rules, a challenger needs the backing of one-fifth of the party’s MPs in the House of Commons, which currently means 81 lawmakers. Streeting said on Tuesday that he hoped Starmer would agree to step down, but added that if he did not, “there will need to be a contest, and I would be prepared to do that”. While Streeting has support among parliamentary colleagues, Burnham is widely seen as the more likely successor.
Burnham, 56, has led Manchester since 2017 and is known by the nickname “King of the North”. He has said he wants to take his brand of “Manchesterism” to the national stage. In a video released on election day, Burnham said the vote gave “the people of Makerfield the opportunity to write a new script”.
Starmer has continued to insist that he will stay on. Speaking at the G7 summit in France this week, he said, “I will fight if there’s a challenge. We won a significant general election result in 2024, with a mandate to bring about change. I’m not going to walk away from that.” He also suggested that Burnham could be offered a Cabinet role if he won, saying on Wednesday, “I want him to have a big role in government.” Burnham’s allies indicated that he was not interested.
Rob Ford, professor of political science at the University of Manchester, said Burnham’s return to Parliament would make the pressure on Starmer “very hard to resist”. Ford said beating Reform UK in Makerfield also strengthened Burnham’s claim to be Labour’s strongest political asset. “The narrative he can bring is, No one else could have won that seat. I won that. I bring something unique. I bring an ability to renew our appeal,” Ford said.
Burnham is expected to travel to London and be sworn in as an MP as early as Monday, and he is also likely to seek a meeting with Starmer to argue that the prime minister should leave in an orderly way and set a timetable for his exit. For now, Starmer says he will not resign, but the race for Labour’s future has clearly intensified after Burnham’s Makerfield win.
With PTI Inputs
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