Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham secured an easy win in a by-election for the seat of Makerfield in northern England, allowing him to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the leadership of the Labour Party and the United Kingdom.
Burnham defeated anti-immigration Reform UK candidate Robert Kenyon on Friday, securing a seat in the House of Commons, which is a primary requirement to bid for a leadership challenge against the Prime Minister. Burnham gained 24,927 voted, beating Kenyon by over 9,000 votes.
Rebecca Shepherd of Restore Britain placed third, followed by Michael Winstanley of the Conservative Party, Sarah Wakefield of the Green Party, and Jake Austin of the Liberal Democrats.
“Everyone knows that politics is not working,” said Burnham in his victory speech “Everyone can feel that the country isn’t where it should be. Tonight could – just could – be the turning point. From here on, I will give everything that I have got to make it so, to ensure the name Makerfield is forever synonymous with bringing about the change this country needs.”
Burnham’s victory is expected to put further pressure on Starmer to step down or trigger a leadership challenge. If the bid for the leadership challenge passes, Starmer would likely have to compete against Burnham and former Health Secretary Wes Streeting. Under the United Kingdom’s political system, the Parliament members can choose a new Prime Minister without a general election.
According to an Ipsos poll published earlier this week, 25 per cent of British adults chose Burnham as their choice for Prime Minister, while Starmer only got 12 per cent.
Meanwhile, Starmer congratulated Burnham on social media, stating that the voters “chose Labour’s campaign of hope and optimism over division and hate”. However, he continued to maintain that he would not step down and would fight to remain the leader of the party and country.
