Burnham wins Makerfield seat as cabinet ministers urge Starmer to quit
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham won a decisive by-election in Makerfield on Friday, clearing the path for a leadership bid against a weakened Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The Makerfield landslide
Andy Burnham secured the Makerfield parliamentary seat with 24,927 votes, more than 9,000 ahead of the Reform UK candidate who polled 15,696. The mayor, nicknamed the “King of the North”, described the result as a “turning point” for UK politics and immediately signalled he would use his return to Westminster to mount a challenge.
I do say to my own party, this is a final chance to change. There will be no second chance.
Starmer digs in
Hours after the result, Keir Starmer insisted he would stand in any leadership contest. The prime minister warned his party of the “chaos” a bitter internal fight could bring, but a defiant statement did little to calm the revolt. Labour rules require 20% of the parliamentary party, 81 MPs, to back a single candidate to trigger a formal challenge. Former health minister Wes Streeting said earlier this week he would force a contest unless Starmer announced a resignation timetable.
A party in revolt
Starmer’s position was already crumbling after heavy local election losses last month and the resignations of the defence and health ministers. About a quarter of Labour MPs have called for him to quit. The Makerfield win intensified the pressure, with cabinet ministers telling Starmer later on Friday that he must stand aside for Burnham.
- Andy Burnham wins Makerfield by-election with 24,927 votes.
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he will stand in any leadership contest.
- Cabinet ministers tell Starmer to stand aside for Burnham.
Burnham’s path to power
The 56-year-old Burnham, a former cabinet minister under Gordon Brown, has spent eight years as mayor of Greater Manchester, building a profile as an outspoken regional champion. He is to the left of Starmer, supports renationalisation of key public services and has called for an end to four decades of what he describes as failed neoliberal economics. His victory speech framed the moment as Labour’s last opportunity to reset before a general election.
What comes next
With Burnham now an MP, the mechanics of a leadership contest are within reach. Starmer’s allies hope to dissuade challengers long enough to defuse the crisis, but the open revolt among cabinet ministers and the presence of at least one well-funded rival make a showdown increasingly likely in the coming days.
