Starmer vows to fight as Burnham’s election win fuels a Labour
leadership showdown
[June 20, 2026]
By KWIYEON HA and JILL LAWLESS
ASHTON-IN-MAKERFIELD, England (AP) — Labour’s Andy Burnham, the popular
mayor of Greater Manchester, won a special election for a seat in
Parliament and signaled Friday that he will use it to challenge
embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer for leadership of the country.
Starmer said he planned to fight for his job, but a growing number of
colleagues urged him to make a dignified exit.
“There is this sense of collective movement,” former Labour Deputy
Leader Harriet Harman told the “Electoral Dysfunction” podcast. “Andy
Burnham is going to become prime minister. Keir Starmer is going to be
leaving office.”
Burnham decisively won the seat of Makerfield in northwestern England
over Rob Kenyon of the anti-immigration party Reform UK. The result
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 acceptance 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 congratulated Burnham, writing on X that voters “chose Labour’s
campaign of hope and optimism over division and hate.”
But the prime minister insisted he would fight any attempt to oust him.
“I will run, I will stand,” if there is a Labour leadership contest,
Starmer said. "I’ve said repeatedly I’m not going to walk away from
that.”
Burnham says he's the candidate of change
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 told supporters and campaign workers on Friday that "we are going to
lay out a new path for Britain.”
“We need an economy that works for everybody, not a few in far-off
places from here,” he said. “We have an opportunity to turn the tide, to
make the country feel like it’s working again, to make people see that
politics can make a positive difference, to make people feel hope
again.”
Earlier, in his victory speech, 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.
Rob Ford, professor of political science at the University of
Manchester, said defeating Reform UK 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.
Voters in Makerfield, who have been the focus of international media
attention during the five-week campaign, were aware their votes carried
unusual weight.
“I voted Andy Burnham because I don’t believe Keir Starmer has done a
good job," said Ernest Sherman, 70. "So I voted tactically knowing that
Andy Burnham has a chance to replace Starmer. So it will still be Labour,
but he will have different views.”
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.
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Britain's Labour party candidate Andy Burnham speaks to supporters
after the Makerfield by-election in Ashton in Makerfield, England,
Friday, June 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Jon Super)
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.
Labour's dismal performance in May’s local elections spurred scores
of lawmakers to demand Starmer’s resignation. 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.
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.
Burnham’s victory piles pressure on Starmer to quit
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.
Burnham's supporters wasted no time in urging Starmer to go. Labour
lawmaker Louise Haigh, a Burnham ally, said Starmer should “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.”
Starmer insisted on Friday that he was elected on a “mandate for
change” and would carry on with it. Earlier this week he suggested
that he could offer Burnham a Cabinet post, an idea rebuffed by
Burnham's allies.
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. Tthere could then be a leadership
contest, or a coronation, depending on whether other potential
candidates think Burnham has an unassailable lead.
“When things begin to slide away from a prime minister, they begin
to slide away very, very quickly," said Tim Bale, professor of
politics at Queen Mary University of London.
“Over the weekend there will be all sorts of talks behind closed
doors, mainly I suspect people trying to persuade Keir Starmer ...
that the game is up."
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Lawless reported from London. Associated Press writer Danica Kirka
contributed to this story.
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