Friday briefing: Andy Burnham wins Makerfield byelection to set up possible leadership bid
Summary
Andy Burnham won a big victory in the Makerfield byelection, returning to the House of Commons and challenging Keir Starmer’s leadership of the Labour Party. He gained strong support from voters wanting change and more power for northern England, increasing Labour’s vote share by almost 10%.Key Facts
- Andy Burnham, former mayor of Manchester, won 55% of votes in the Makerfield byelection.
- Turnout was 58.75%, the highest for a byelection in seven years and up from 52.5% in the 2024 general election.
- Burnham beat Robert Kenyon from the Reform party and Rebecca Shepherd from the hard-right Restore Britain party.
- Burnham gained 6,100 more votes than Reform and Restore combined.
- The result showed evidence of tactical voting with low votes for the Liberal Democrats and Green Party.
- Political experts link Burnham’s win to voters wanting to remove Keir Starmer as Labour leader.
- Burnham called for more power for northern England and signaled a possible leadership challenge.
- Despite the strong win, the atmosphere at the vote count was serious, focused on what comes next.
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