Labour’s Andy Burnham wins by-election, setting up race with Keir Starmer to lead Britain
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Andy Burnham, the current mayor of Greater Manchester, has won a special election for a seat in Parliament that puts him in a position to challenge embattled British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Burnham convincingly won the seat of Makerfield for the Labor Party in the north west of England, defeating Rob Kenyon of the anti-immigrant group Reform UK.
The victory announced on Friday cements Burnham’s position as the leading contender to replace Starmer as leader of the Labor Party and the country.
Burnham’s victory speech left no doubt that he wants to lead the country, not just be one of more than 400 MPs in the 650-seat House of Commons.
“Everyone knows that politics doesn’t work,” he said. “Everybody can feel that the country is not where it should be. Tonight could be a turning point.”
He said Labor had “one last chance to change” and regain the trust of voters.
“But it is an opportunity now, from this result tonight, to build a new politics based on unity and hope, to turn our backs on the path that leads us to the divisive, dark politics of the kind we see in the United States,” he said.
Starmer’s popularity is on the wane
Starmer’s popularity has declined since he led the centre-left Labor Party to victory in the July 2024 election.
He has struggled to deliver the economic growth he promised, fixing crumbling public services and easing the cost of living, and has been dogged by repeated mistakes, including his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a disgraced friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as UK ambassador to the United States.
Faced with a string of local election losses for his Labor Party, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has shrugged off calls to step down by promising change, although analysts say his speech is unlikely to silence his critics.
A poor performance in May’s local elections prompted many lawmakers to call for Starmer to step down. He refused to step down, but his senior colleagues tried to force a change.
Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary in May, saying “where we need an idea, we have a nose.”
Then Josh Simons, the Labor MP for Makerfield, stepped down to trigger a special election and give Burnham a chance to return to Parliament.
Britain’s parliamentary system allows the ruling parties to change leaders mid-year, with the winner becoming prime minister without the need for a general election. Under Labor rules, an MP can challenge the leader if he has the support of a fifth of the party’s members in the House of Commons.
Streeting said Tuesday he hopes Starmer will agree to resign, but if he doesn’t, “there will have to be a contest, and I’ll be ready to do that.”
