Makerfield by-election result live: Burnham hails win as ‘turning point’ as path opens to challenge Starmer

Makerfield by-election result live: Burnham hails win as ‘turning point’ as path opens to challenge Starmer Andy Burnham hails victory as ‘turning point’ as he warns Labour has a ‘final chance to change’ - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Andy Burnham has said Labour has a “final chance to change” and described his landslide victory over Reform UK in the Makerfield by-election, as a “turning point”. His decisive win now paves his way back to Westminster to officially challenge Sir Keir Starmer. The now-former Greater Manchester mayor won the contest by 9,231 votes, seeing off the challenge from Nigel Farage’s party in what he called a “turning point” in British politics. The result was met with cheers and applause from Labour campaigners, before Mr Burnham said in his victory speech that Labour has a “final chance to change” and “must act upon it”. He said: He said: “Everyone knows that politics isn’t working. “Everyone can feel that the country isn’t where it should be. Tonight could, just could, be the turning point.” His allies have called on Sir Keir to set out an “orderly and managed transition” of power, but the prime minister has insisted he will fight any attempt to challenge him and has been building up a war chest for a leadership campaign. Former health secretary Wes Streeting says he will join the contest if Mr Burnham stands against Sir Keir. Burnham win triggers mayoral by-election with vote likely at end of July More than two million people will be able to vote for Andy Burnham’s successor as Greater Manchester Mayor, with the by-election likely to take place at the end of July. The post of mayor automatically fell vacant when Mr Burnham was named as the new MP for Makerfield. Electoral law does not allow the mayor of Greater Manchester to also be a member of parliament. The rule takes effect “immediately” the mayor is declared the winner of a seat at Westminster, according to guidance published by the House of Commons library. The law also states that a mayoral by-election must be held within 35 working days of the post becoming vacant. This means the poll will need to take place before August 6, with Thursday July 30 a possible date. Some 2.1 million people were eligible to vote at the most recent election for Greater Manchester Mayor in May 2024. Fewer than a third of voters actually cast a ballot, however, with turnout of just 32 per cent. The by-election is likely to cost several million pounds. Analysis: Landslide victory for Burnham in by-election for the history books Labour MPs line up to congratulate Burnham It may still be the early hours of the morning, but plenty of Labour MPs have already publicly congratulated Andy Burnham on his by-election win. Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell congratulated the now-former Manchester mayor on X, while MP Rupa Huq wrote: “Look forward to seeing you at work on Monday!” Kate Osborne MP hailed Mr Burnham’s “brilliant campaign”, writing: “I look forward to welcoming Andy to Parliament.” How much did Restore impact Reform's vote? In the last few weeks, Restore Britain’s campaign in Makerfield was looking like it could swing the result. Polls suggested Restore was splitting Reform’s vote enough to prevent them from beating Andy Burnham in the contest. However, even if Reform had won their share of the vote, it still would not have been enough to prevent Mr Burnham’s landslide victory. Reform candidate Rob Kenyon won 34.5 per cent of the vote, while Restore Britain’s Rebecca Shepherd won 6.8 per cent, which together come to 41.3 per cent. Meanwhile, the now-former Greater Manchester mayor won 54.8 per cent of the votes cast, outperforming all the opinion polls published during the campaign. Top pollster warns Burnham victory won't boost Labour nationwide Polling expert Sir John Curtice said Andy Burnham’s Makerfield victory was not likely to lead to a nationwide surge in Labour’s popularity. Speaking on the BBC, he said: “Can this be replicated elsewhere? First thing to note, between them the Conservatives, the Greens and the Liberal Democrats got no more than 3 per cent of the vote. “I think one has to say that there are two crucial elements to Mr Burnham’s success. The first is the apparent readiness of those who are minded to vote for parties other than Reform, or indeed Restore Britain, their readiness to fall in and vote for Mr Burnham. “The second element of Mr Burnham’s success is that in a sense he was riding two horses at once. He was both riding as the person who was trying to appeal to the traditional Labour vote … and he was also able to appeal to those who wanted to see the back of Keir Starmer. “The question you have to ask yourself is when Mr Burnham becomes prime minister, how easy will that trick be to repeat? Because once he’s his own man, he’s not going to be able to campaign against himself in the way he’s campaigned against Keir Starmer. “Bear in mind the fact that because he is so popular within Manchester, the extent to which his popularity can be extended across the whole of the country. All of this is for Mr Burnham to prove – it looks as if he will get the opportunity to prove it but I don’t think we should assume that there is going to be suddenly a dramatic change in the standing of the Labour party in the national opinion polls.” The real contest begins now... Andy Burnham has just secured victory in Makerfield, in a by-election certain to have repercussions far beyond the constituency itself. The contest was triggered for the sole reason of returning Andy Burnham to Parliament, allowing him to launch an official leadership challenge. Now, Mr Burnham will be able to go ahead with his bid, and could be the prime minister within weeks. However, Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly vowed he would fight in any leadership contest, meaning Labour’s civil war could wage on for months to come. Minister hails Burnham victory as 'history in the making' Cabinet minister Lisa Nandy said it was “history in the making” after Andy Burnham won the Makerfield by-election. She said: “What Andy’s shown here is that there is something that he brings, a willingness to go out and fight for the change that people need, to take on any system and any person who stands in the way and to be bold and to wear his heart on his sleeve, and people have responded. “I think that with him back in the top team, at the top table, helping to drive that change, I think we’ll be in a really strong position.” Another by-election loss in major blow for Reform Tonight’s results will be a major blow for Nigel Farage’s Reform party, as it marks yet another by-election loss in a target constituency. The party performed exceptionally well at last month’s local elections, which saw them win every council ward in the Makerfield constituency, securing around half the vote. Labour was left trailing behind, having secured little more than a quarter of the ballots. Tonight’s result will raise questions as to whether Reform have reached their political peak, after they lost another by-election in Gorton and Denton in February. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments