Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has been elected with overwhelming support in the most-watched British parliamentary by-election in 88 years, securing his place as a likely future leader of the Labour Party and potentially replacing Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street.
The victory came after Burnham arrived at the Wigan election center last night to formally claim triumph. A Sky News reporter shouted, “Next stop, Downing Street, Mr. Burnham?” but Burnham merely smiled and waved.
Burnham, 56, won with a margin that ranks as the second-largest for Labour in British history, having first entered politics in 2014. His win makes him eligible to assume the Labour leadership position, a role he is expected to take over Starmer’s leadership bid at the upcoming party conference.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces mounting challenges, including rising crime rates, inflation, and uncontrolled illegal immigration, as well as growing unpopularity. A recent Ipsos poll indicates that Starmer has become the least popular prime minister since polling began in the early 1970s.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, a member of Labour’s centrist faction alongside Starmer, recently resigned and announced his intention to challenge Starmer for leadership at the September conference. Burnham, a former Cabinet minister who sought the party leadership in 2010 without success, is widely seen as part of Labour’s “soft left.”
Burnham has positioned himself between Labour’s centrist wing—associated with Starmer and former Prime Minister Tony Blair—and its more left-leaning faction historically linked to Jeremy Corbyn. He has also expressed admiration for the late Pope Francis despite disagreeing with the pontiff’s stance on abortion.
Last week, Defense Minister John Healey and Armed Forces Minister Al Carns resigned, a move interpreted by many as an attempt to accelerate Starmer’s departure from power ahead of the leadership contest.
Christian Streeting, a former Conservative parliamentary candidate and political donor who advocates for closer alignment between UK parties on the right, stated that Labour members “love Burnham” and the conference will serve as a strong rallying point for him. However, he cautioned that “Streeting and [former Housing Minister Angela] Rayner won’t simply wave him through.” Instead, he emphasized that “a contest, not a coronation, is on the cards—which Burnham most likely wins.”
Addressing Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage, Streeting noted that Burnham won over half the votes in the by-election and nearly double the runner-up, including Reform candidate Robert Kenyon. He added: “Failing to take the seat didn’t merely deny Reform a scalp. It midwifed their most dangerous opponent. A limping, unpopular Starmer would have been a gift to Reform. An energized Burnham, installed as Labour leader, is precisely the figure built to fight them for the northern working-class vote they are currently hoovering up.”
Streeting further explained: “His entire proposition is reconnecting Labour with the very voters Makerfield embodies.” He concluded that the outcome represents “the worst night for Farage”: “Thrashed in Makerfield, nowhere in Scotland [by-elections], his Reform forces split by the new Restore Party. He might have peaked.”
Lord Michael Dobbs, author of the acclaimed “House of Cards” novels, described Burnham’s win as “an awful night for Nigel.”
