Andy Burnham has overcome a major hurdle in his mission to challenge UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer by winning the Makerfield by-election in dominant fashion.
Andy Burnham has overcome a major hurdle to challenging embattled UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer by winning the Makerfield by-election in resounding fashion.
Mr Burnham, who is widely seen as the most likely contender to succeed Mr Starmer as Labour leader, won the seat in England’s north-west with a resounding 24,297 votes.
The candidate for Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Reform UK party came second with 15,696 votes.
The populist politician is expected to challenge the UK Prime Minister for the national leadership within a matter of days.
Mr Starmer has already warned Mr Burnham against launching a leadership challenge.
Andy Burnham has overcome a major hurdle in his mission to challenge embattled UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer by winning the Makerfield by-election in resounding fashion. Picture: AP
Mr Starmer has already warned Mr Burnham against launching a leadership challenge. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer looks on as he awaits Switzerland’s Federal President Guy Parmelin on the sidelines of the G7 summit on June 16, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Photo by Isabel Infantes – Pool/Getty Images)
The UK Prime Minister commented on the by-election at this week’s G7 summit, saying it would be a “bad thing” for the country were there to be a challenge against his leadership.
The British leader, who was elected to the UK’s top political job in 2024 in a landslide win over former Conservative PM Rishi Sunak, has already tried to ward off Mr Burnham’s Labour leadership hopes.
“I hope he wins the by-election and he’ll play a big part in the Labour government,” Mr Starmer told reporters at the summit being held this week in Evian, France.
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