Labour's Andy Burnham wins a special election, setting up a showdown
with Starmer to lead Britain
[June 19, 2026]
By JILL LAWLESS
LONDON (AP) — Labour’s 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 Prime Minister Keir
Starmer for leadership of the country.
Burnham decisively won the seat of Makerfield in northwest England over
Rob Kenyon of the anti-immigration party Reform UK.
The victory announced early Friday cements the status of Burnham, a
56-year-old politician nicknamed the King of the North, as the top
contender to replace Starmer as leader of the Labour Party and the
country. Burnham won almost 55% of the 45,510 votes cast for a field of
more than a dozen candidates, over 9,000 more than runner-up Kenyon.
Burnham’s victory speech left no doubt that he wants to lead the
country, and not just be one of the more than 400 Labour lawmakers in
the 650-seat House of Commons.
“Everyone knows that politics isn’t working," he said. "Everyone can
feel that the country isn’t where it should be. Tonight could, just
could, be the turning point.”
Starmer, who has insisted he will fight any leadership challenge,
congratulated Burnham. “Voters chose Labour’s campaign of hope and
optimism over division and hate,” the prime minister wrote on X.
Burnham has led Manchester since 2017, overseeing rapid regeneration for
the city where the Industrial Revolution was forged. He is pledging to
repeat his signature brand of “Manchesterism” on a national scale.
Burnham said he would work to ensure that “the name Makerfield is
forever synonymous with bringing about the change this country needs.”
He said Labour had “a final chance to change" and win back voters'
trust.
“But it is a chance now, from this result tonight, to build a new
politics based on unity and hope, turning away from the path that takes
us to a divided, dark politics of the kind we see in the United States,”
he said.
Labour is in power but unpopular
Starmer’s popularity has cratered since he led the center-left Labour
Party to a landslide election victory in July 2024.
He has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered
public services and ease the cost of living, and been hamstrung by
repeated missteps, including his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a
scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as the U.K. ambassador to
the United States.
Labour is losing liberal voters to the growing Green Party, and facing a
rising Reform UK, which consistently leads in nationwide opinion polls.
The Nigel Farage -led party has rapidly gained ground in post-industrial
northern England areas like Makerfield, some 200 miles (320 kilometers)
northwest of London.
Burnham’s resounding victory gives Labour new hope of stopping the
Reform tide. Farage acknowledged he was “disappointed, no question about
it,” with the result of Thursday’s vote.
A dismal performance by Labour in May’s local elections spurred scores
of lawmakers to demand Starmer’s resignation. He has refused to budge,
but senior colleagues are trying to force a change.
Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary in May, saying that “where we
need vision, we have a vacuum.” Streeting has said he will run in a
leadership contest if there is one.
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Andy Burnham, Britain's Labour candidate for Makerfield, gestures in
front of supporters during the by-election in Makerfield, England,
Thursday, June 18, 2026 where voters are choosing a new lawmaker
with Andy Burnham of the Labour Party as the leading contender.(AP
Photo/Jon Super)
Then Josh Simons, the Labour lawmaker for Makerfield, stepped down
to trigger a special election and give Burnham the chance to return
to Parliament.
Britain’s parliamentary system allows governing parties to change
leaders midterm, with the winner becoming prime minister without the
need for a national election. Under Labour rules, a lawmaker can
challenge the leader if they have backing from a fifth of the
party’s House of Commons lawmakers — a number that stands at 81.
The victorious Burnham will head to London to be sworn in as a
lawmaker as soon as Monday. He’s likely to seek a meeting with
Starmer to argue that the prime minister should exit gracefully and
set a timetable for his departure.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said Burnham and Starmer would in the
next few days have to “have a conversation about what comes next.”
Labour lawmaker Louise Haigh, a Burnham ally, said Starmer should
“do what’s best for both the country and the Labour Party” and
“consider an orderly and managed transition.”
“Andy won’t be doing anything rash or hasty,” she told Sky News.
“I’m really hopeful the prime minister and Andy can come to an
agreement.”
Burnham’s victory piles pressure on Starmer to quit
Starmer has so far insisted he has no intention of leaving his post.
“I will fight if there’s a challenge,” he said at the G7 summit in
France this week. “We won a significant general election result in
2024, with a mandate to bring about change. I’m not going to walk
away from that.”
Starmer suggested that he could offer Burnham a Cabinet post,
telling Sky News on Wednesday that “I want him to have a big role in
government.” Allies of Burnham indicated that he wasn’t interested.
Despite his stubborn determination, Starmer could be forced out if
several members of the Cabinet tell him the game is up and quit, or
threaten to quit, in protest.
There could then be a leadership contest, or a coronation, depending
on whether other potential candidates think Burnham has an
unassailable lead.
Rob Ford, professor of political science at the University of
Manchester, said “the pressure on Starmer will be very hard to
resist” now that Burnham is back in Parliament.
Ford said defeating Reform UK in Makerfield strengthens Burnham’s
claim to be Labour’s biggest asset.
“The narrative he can bring is, ‘No one else could have won that
seat. I won that. I bring something unique. I bring an ability to
renew our appeal,’” Ford said.
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