Andy Burnham wins Makerfield seat, opening path to challenge UK PM Starmer

LONDON: Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham won the parliamentary seat of Makerfield in northwest England on Friday, a result that clears the way for him to take part in or trigger a contest to replace British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Burnham secured 24,927 votes, while the Reform UK candidate finished second with 15,696. Burnham, 56, has said he would stand in any Labour leadership contest, and his return to parliament now gives him the ability to formally enter such a race.

In his victory speech, Burnham said the outcome could mark a major moment for British politics and urged Labour to respond to the message from voters. He said it was the party’s last opportunity to change course.

“We must hear it, we must act upon it, and we must get it right,” he said. “There will be no second chance.”

Pressure mounts on Starmer

Burnham, who has built a long political career and has backed public ownership of major services, has also criticised what he described as four decades of failed neo-liberal economics. Polls show he is Labour’s most popular politician among party members and would be well placed in a leadership contest decided by that electorate.

Starmer, 63, is facing growing pressure inside Labour two years after his landslide general election victory. He now has some of the worst approval ratings recorded for a British prime minister since polling records began, following scandals, policy reversals and criticism over indecision.

About a quarter of Labour lawmakers have called on Starmer to resign since the party’s heavy losses in local elections last month, while senior colleagues, including the defence and health ministers, have stepped down in recent weeks over his leadership. Starmer said this week that he would stand in any leadership contest and warned the party against the potential chaos of a bitter internal race.

One Labour lawmaker who watched the result come in told Reuters that Burnham’s margin made Starmer’s exit unavoidable, with only the timing and manner of his departure still uncertain. "It is over,” the lawmaker told Reuters.

There was no immediate comment from Starmer’s office. Another potential rival, former health minister Wes Streeting, said this week he would push for a contest soon unless the prime minister set out when he would leave office.

Leadership rules and market reaction

Under Labour Party rules, 20 per cent of the parliamentary party — or 81 lawmakers — would need to back a single candidate to start a leadership challenge. Some Labour MPs hope Starmer might instead be persuaded to hand over power to avoid a divisive contest.

During the month-long campaign, Burnham set out policies as if preparing for national office. He has sought to calm investor concerns by saying he would keep the government’s fiscal rules in place and would not raise the main taxes. That followed comments last year that Britain was “in hock” to the bond markets, which were interpreted as a signal he would borrow more. Burnham later said those remarks had been misrepresented.

The pound showed little reaction to Burnham’s victory, which had largely been anticipated by investors. Political historians said the Makerfield contest could become Britain’s most significant one-off parliamentary seat election since 1963, when then-prime minister Alec Douglas-Home contested a House of Commons seat to strengthen his position.

If Starmer is removed, Britain would have its seventh prime minister in about a decade, the highest turnover in nearly 200 years. After delivering his speech, Burnham told journalists that his first act as a newly elected member of parliament would be to go for a pint of beer.