Andy Burnham wins crucial UK by-election, in blow to Keir Starmer
Key takeaways
- Greater Manchester mayor’s victory in Makerfield clears path for bid to unseat Starmer as prime minister.
- Burnham won 24,927 votes, beating Kenyon by more than 9,000 votes.
- Rebecca Shepherd of Restore Britain was a distant third, trailed by Michael Winstanley of the Conservative Party, Sarah Wakefield of the Green Party, and the Liberal Democrats’ Jake Austin.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Greater Manchester mayor’s victory in Makerfield clears path for bid to unseat Starmer as prime minister.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Labour Party candidate Andy Burnham addresses supporters outside the party's campaign office in Ashton in Makerfield, northwest England, on June 18, 2026 [Oli Scarff/AFP]By Al Jazeera Staff Published On 19 Jun 202619 Jun 2026Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has cruised to victory in a high-stakes by-election in northern England, paving the way for him to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the leadership of the Labour Party and the United Kingdom.
Burnham handily defeated his closest challenger, Robert Kenyon, the candidate for the anti-immigration Reform UK, in the seat of Makerfield, vote results showed early on Friday, securing the House of Commons seat he needs to mount a bid for the prime ministership.