Burnham says Makerfield victory ‘last chance’ to change Britain
Burnham said that his byelection win was the “last chance” to change the country, and a chance “to lay out a new path for Britain”.
He said:
double quotation markIt is our last chance to change, but we’re going to take it, aren’t we? We are going to take that opportunity and we are going to lay out a new path for Britain.
The word Makerfield in the future must be known as a byword for the change that came to British politics. This is the moment.
We’ve been on a path for 40 years that simply hasn’t worked for people and places in this part of the world, and this now is the change moment.
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.”
I think we need in this country right now for people to feel a sense of hope that there is something better to work towards on the horizon.
Andy Burnham addresing a victory rally at the Bartons Group Stadium in Ashton-in-Makerfield. Photograph: Temilade Adelaja/ReutersShare
Updated at 06.16 EDT
Key events
1h ago
Starmer facing pressure from Burnham and Streeting allies not to fight leadership challenge
2h ago
The day so far
5h ago
Badenoch says Aberdeen South byelection victory for Tories means they ‘won referendum on oil and gas’
5h ago
Starmer urges Labour party staffers to ‘take fight to Reform’
5h ago
CBI tells Labour Britain cannot afford ‘summer of speculation and drift’
5h ago
Starmer v Burnham – snap verdict
6h ago
Burnham explains how ‘Makerfield test’ will ensure places like his constituency don’t get treated as ‘afterthought’
6h ago
Burnham suggests Reform UK victory in byelection would have taken Britain ‘towards greater darkness and division’
6h ago
Burnham says Makerfield victory ‘last chance’ to change Britain
7h ago
Burnham speaks to supporters at victory rally
7h ago
Starmer claims government has achieved more than people may have expected two years ago
7h ago
Starmer says he’s achieved ‘huge amount’ as PM
7h ago
Starmer claims Reform UK has ‘reached probably peak of their support’
7h ago
‘If there is a contest, then yes, I will stand,’ says Starmer
7h ago
Starmer says he ‘will stand’ in any Labour leadership contest after Makerfield result, and won’t ‘walk away’
8h ago
Irish PM congratulates Burnham on his byelection victory
8h ago
SNP must ‘reflect heavily’ on why it lost Aberdeen South, says its former Westminster leader Stephen Flynn
8h ago
Greens say they will be ‘campaigning hard’ to win Greater Manchester mayoral contest
9h ago
Farage says he’s ‘disappointed’ by Makerfield results, and urges Reform supporters who defected to Restore to ‘think again’
9h ago
Streeting congratulates Burnham – without saying more about his own leadership challenge threat
9h ago
Labour needs leadership election fought on policy, not personality, says Unite’s leader, Sharon Graham
10h ago
Harriet Harman says Labour MPs, not party members, should choose next leader
10h ago
Labour MP Patrick Hurley says he’s recently changed mind about PM, saying ‘we can’t continue to tell voters they’re wrong’
11h ago
Pressure on Starmer to yield premiership intensifies after Burnham trounces Reform UK in Makerfield
11h ago
Starmer congratulates Burnham, saying voters chose ‘Labour’s campaign of hope and optimism over division and hate’
13h ago
What journalists and commentators are saying about Burnham’s victory
14h ago
Burnham’s win – snap verdict
14h ago
Full results of Makerfield byelection – with Labour on 55%, and Reform UK on 35%
14h ago
Burnham says north of England needs ‘big change at national level’, and returning to Westminster ‘unfinished business’
14h ago
Burnham says Labour now has ‘final chance to change’ and ‘must act upon it’
14h ago
Burnham says he will ‘focus on problem solving rather than point scoring’
14h ago
Burnham says he wants to put ‘Makerfield test’ at heart of British politics
14h ago
Burnham says he hopes his win will be ‘turning point’, and Makerfield will be ‘synonymous with change’
14h ago
Burnham elected MP for Makerfield with majority of more than 9,000
15h ago
Minister Mike Tapp criticises calls for Starmer to hand over to Burnham, saying that would trigger ‘credible calls’ for election
15h ago
Tories say Aberdeen South their first Westminster byelection gain in Scotland for almost 60 years
15h ago
Nandy dismisses claim Burnham only winning in Makerfield because Restore Britain split rightwing vote
15h ago
Rupert Lowe claims Restore Britain’s vote in Makerfield ‘much better’ than he expected
15h ago
SNP hold Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, with Labour pushed into 4th place – results in full
16h ago
Burnham ally Louise Haigh says Starmer should agree to ‘orderly and managed transition’ of power
16h ago
Tories win Aberdeen South with majority of 6,050 – results in full
16h ago
SNP concedes Aberdeen South with Scottish Conservatives set to win
16h ago
Reform UK ‘very happy’ to come a strong second in Makerfield, says Sarah Pochin
16h ago
Reform UK gloomy about prospects in Makerfield, as one party source says Labour ahead by 2,500 votes
17h ago
Turnout in Arbroath and Broughty Ferry byelection 31.4% – down almost 30 points from general election
17h ago
Turnout in Makerfield 58.75% – six points up on general election
17h ago
Nandy says Labour ‘cautiously optimistic’ about Makerfield, and Burnham beat expectations pulling back Reform voters
18h ago
SNP reportedly worried they could lose Aberdeen South to Tories
18h ago
Reform UK’s Sarah Pochin defends video urging England team to ‘keep winning’ to stop domestic violence escalating
19h ago
Will Makerfield really be the most consequential byelection in British history?
19h ago
What polls have said about likely voting in Makerfield
19h ago
How Makerfield, Aberdeen South, and Arbroath and Broughty Ferry voted in 2024
19h ago
Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon says he’s confident of getting ‘big vote’ in Makerfield byelection
19h ago
Deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell says Labour has spoken to ‘record number of residents’ in ‘positive campaign’
19h ago
Burnham brings in top economists before possible leadership run
20h ago
Polls close in historic Makerfield byelection that could see Andy Burnham elected and pave way for end of Starmer
Labour will announce its candidate for the Greater Manchester mayoral byelection on 26 June.
Under a timetable released by the party, applications for selection opened at 5pm on Friday and will close at 5pm on Sunday.
Labour’s National Executive Committee will produce a longlist of candidates on 22 June and then a shortlist on 23 June, with members voting from 6pm on 23 June until 12pm on 26 June and the result announced later that day.
A party source said:
double quotation markLabour in power in Greater Manchester has seen real improvements for people’s everyday lives.
From buses back in public control with capped fares, to thousands more homes and additional infrastructure built – all of this progress could be put at risk with Reform.
The Greens can’t win this race. It’s time to pass the torch from Andy Burnham, who has delivered for the area, to the next transformational Labour mayor.
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Peter Walker
As those around Nigel Farage are fond of pointing out, Reform UK has now led in more than 300 consecutive national polls. When it comes to byelections, though, it is fair to say the party’s results are more mixed.
Yes, Robert Kenyon came second in Makerfield to a popular regional mayor backed by a Labour campaign so relentless that the main risk was annoying voters by knocking too often on their doors. Kenyon also increased his and Reform’s share of the vote from the 2024 general election.
This, though, was a seat so demographically Reform-friendly that some pundits warned Andy Burnham was taking a big risk using it as his vehicle for a return to Westminster. In that context, as Farage himself said on Friday morning, Makerfield was a disappointment.
The larger danger is that it could become a trend. Of the five byelections held since the general election in 2024, Reform has only won a single seat, last year in Runcorn and Helsby – and that by precisely six votes.
The two byelections held in Scotland on Thursday were never on Farage’s agenda. But Makerfield comes four months after Reform also came a distant second in Gorton and Denton, that time to the Greens.
Both seats are in Greater Manchester, if politically and demographically very different. But they arguably contain some of the same lessons for Reform, including the importance of selecting the right candidate.
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John Crace
In the end, it wasn’t even close, Andy Burnham taking well over 50% of the vote and Rob Kenyon departing the stage without a murmur, never to be heard of again. Rob will probably be happier that way. He never looked as if he was much enjoying the attention of being the candidate for Reform in Makerfield.
After a brief acceptance speech at the count, Burnham reappeared six hours later at Ashton Town FC for the celebration rally proper. Flanked by several MPs waving ‘Andy for Us’ placards, and one notable ex-MP in Josh Simons who had vacated the seat for the coronation, Andy was all smiles in the sunshine. He’d even swapped out the slightly too tight black T-shirt for a slightly too tight white polo shirt. This was him dressing up for the occasion. He can do formal when he tries.
It was all rather surreal. A byelection that felt more like a general election. And that was certainly Burnham’s vibe. His speech was one that could have been made by a new incoming Labour prime minister who had just ousted a much-hated Tory government. In fact, he might have lifted huge chunks of it from the one Keir Starmer had given outside Downing Street less than two years previously. You could be forgiven for wondering just which parallel universe you were now living in.
“What a scene, what a campaign,” he began as he thanked the volunteers and people of Makerfield who had helped elect him to Westminster. Then a special thanks to Simons for having made way. Who had understood the message – the instruction – to change that had been given by voters at the May local elections and had made the ultimate sacrifice for the once and future king. Not just king of the north. But king of the whole UK. Move over, Charlie. There’s a new kid in town. He made it sound like a grail quest.
The SNP will “consider the implications” of its defeat in the Aberdeen South by-election, leader John Swinney has said, as he admitted the Tories seized the seat from his party after capturing “understandable anger” in the area over the future of the oil and has industry.
The Tories fought the by-election as a referendum on the sector – with an senior SNP source suggesting voters do not understand the party’s energy policy or view it as “weak”.
The first minister conceded the result of the by-election – held after former SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn won a seat in Holyrood last month – was “obviously a disappointment”.
While many had expected a close contest between Swinney’s party and the Tories, in the end Conservative candidate Douglas Lumsden won easily as the SNP vote collapsed, PA reported.
ShareStarmer facing pressure from Burnham and Streeting allies not to fight leadership challenge
Jessica Elgot
Allies of Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting will ask cabinet ministers, friends and Labour grandees to persuade Keir Starmer over the weekend not to fight a leadership challenge.
Burnham, who won a compelling majority in the Makerfield byelection overnight, is expected to travel to London on Monday to meet MPs in the expectation of becoming prime minister within weeks.
One MP said they believed there were about 200 Labour MPs prepared – if necessary – to sign Burnham’s nomination papers for a challenge.
Starmer was said to be calling members of the cabinet on Friday afternoon to set out his determination to fight on. At least two, Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood, have previously suggested to the prime minister that he should set out a timetable for his departure.
One source said they believed some other cabinet ministers would press the prime minister about whether fighting a leadership contest would be wise.
Senior Labour sources said they believed that if the prime minister did not resign over the weekend – or indicate that he would allow a transition to a new leader – then there would be an intervention at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.
Updated at 11.47 EDT
The day so far
Keir Starmer has insisted he will stand in a Labour leadership contest, should one be triggered after Andy Burnham returned to Westminster following his victory in the Makerfield byelection. The prime minister is under pressure to hand over power to Burnham, who defied national trends to increase Labour’s share of the vote in a seat where Nigel Farage’s Reform UK made sweeping gains in last month’s local elections.
There is no vacancy in No 10, Downing Street said as it refused to be drawn on whether any ministerial resignations should be expected on Friday. Asked whether there was a vacancy for the prime minister’s job, his official spokesman said: “No, I think the prime minister’s been very clear this morning.”
Starmer also claimed that the Makerfield result showed that the tide was turning against Reform UK. He said: “I think it’s further evidence, actually, if you look at it in the context of other byelections, that the tide is turning on Reform, that they can’t now win byelections. They’ve reached probably the peak of their support, it is going down.”
Burnham said that his byelection win was the “last chance” to change the country, and a chance “to lay out a new path for Britain”. He said: “It is our last chance to change, but we’re going to take it, aren’t we? We are going to take that opportunity and we are going to lay out a new path for Britain. The word Makerfield in the future must be known as a byword for the change that came to British politics. This is the moment.”
Burnham’s victory shows that the new MP for Makerfield has a mandate to “take on [Nigel] Farage”, according to the Fire Brigades Union (FBU). The FBU’s general-secretary Steve Wright said the result was a win for the Labour movement, “which staged a mass ground campaign in Markerfield involving trade unions like the FBU”.
Labour is “obsessed” with internal party “drama” Kemi Badenoch said, as she challenged Starmer and his ministers to instead focus on issues such as energy and national security. The Conservative leader also said her party’s dramatic by-election win in Aberdeen South “sent a message” in favour of more drilling in the North Sea – and she called for the controversial Jackdaw and Rosebank developments to be given the go-ahead.
Micheál Martin, the taoiseach (Irish PM) has congratulated Andy Burnham on his byelection victory, RTE’s Tony Connolly reports. Martin said: “I know Andy, I’ve met him on a number of occasions. He has taken a particular interest in Ireland, and he has come to see us on a number of occasions, particularly on the economy and in respect of his role as a mayor in Manchester.”
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has said he is “disappointed” about the Makerfield byelection results – and he has urged some of his supporters who defected to Restore Britain to “think again”. In a video statement about the result, he said: “What really happened here was, it was vote [Andy] Burnham, get [Keir] Starmer out which, of course, was our campaign message leading up to the locals on May 7, so we were slightly hoisted with our own petard.”
A Liberal Democrat MP was arrested on suspicion of controlling and coercive behaviour and assault, the Press Association understands. Cameron Thomas, the MP for Tewkesbury, was arrested on Wednesday night by Gloucestershire Police, and interviewed before being released on bail. The Lib Dems said on Thursday that Thomas has had the whip suspended pending the outcome of a police investigation.
Speaking to presenter Anna Botting as part of Sky News’s Makerfield byelection coverage, the Labour peer Thangam Debbonaire and the Reform MP Sarah Pochin clashed during a tense interview after an exchange about an undisclosed £5m personal gift accepted by Nigel Farage in 2024.
Pochin claimed the Reform leader had received the gift before he was in politics. Debbonaire, who tried to interject several times, refuted the claim, saying: ‘You have been interrupting me all night, Sarah, and now you’re just talking rubbish.’
‘You don’t like being on TV with brown people’: Labour peer clashes with Reform MP – videoShare
Updated at 10.52 EDT
Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, says Burnham’s campaign “recognised the need for economic justice” in Makerfield and beyond.
In a statement, she congratulated newly elected Burnham and said he will play a “decisive” role in the future of the party.
double quotation markWhittome said:
“By beating Reform by over 20%, he has shown that our party can not only defeat the far right but also leave them in the dust.
“Andy won because his campaign recognised the urgent need for economic justice in Makerfield and across the country. He represented a break from the Labour leadership and many voters lent him their support on this basis.
“Andy will undoubtedly play a decisive role in our party going forward, and he now carries a responsibility to unite the progressive majority with an inclusive vision for social justice and the redistribution of wealth and power.”
Andy Burnham will return to Westminster as an MP, and potential challenger to Keir Starmer, after decisively beating Reform UK to win the Makerfield byelection. The Guardian’s Kiran Stacey and Jessica Elgot chat through what happens next.
Andy Burnham addressed supporters at a rally following his seismic win in the Makerfield byelection.
The new MP called for lower water bills, energy bills and rail fares to combat the cost of living crisis, saying that the victory was the “last chance” to “lay out a new path for Britain”.
Andy Burnham: Makerfield victory is ‘our last chance’ to change Britain – videoShare
Ed Davey said the Makerfield by-election showed “Reform can be beaten” as he accused Labour of engaging in a “fight over the keys to No 10” while people are struggling.
The Liberal Democrat leader said:
double quotation markYesterday’s result shows that Reform can be beaten, just as the Liberal Democrats have done in local elections across the country.
But while Labour fight over the keys to No 10, people are struggling.
We need real change, not more chaos, starting with a new deal with Europe.
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Starmer says he will stand if there is a leadership contest after Burnham’s win – videoShare
Andy Burnham’s victory shows that the new MP for Makerfield has a mandate to “take on [Nigel] Farage”, according to the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).
The FBU’s general-secretary Steve Wright said the result was a win for the Labour movement, “which staged a mass ground campaign in Markerfield involving trade unions like the FBU”.
He said:
double quotation markThe electorate in this constituency has overwhelmingly voted for hope and rejected the divisive policies of the far right.
Andy Burnham rightly said in his victory that “everyone knows politics isn’t working” and “tonight could just be a turning point”.
Members of the FBU are being forced to live with chronic underfunding of the fire service because of the way political decisions are being made.
Keir Starmer has continued with the disastrous Tory approach of trying to cut our way to a better future that has so badly let down working class people for over 15 years.
He added:
double quotation markThe Fire Brigades Union was proud to play its part in campaigning for Andy Burnham in this campaign and defeating the far right.
Andy now has a mandate to take on Farage and break with austerity by embracing policies to tax the super rich to properly fund public services and pay workers.
It’s critical that the Labour party urgently adopts that change in direction.
Simon Opher, the Labour MP for Stroud, says Andy Burnham’s byelection win last night demonstrates the “appeal of progressive politics”.
In a statement, he said the country has “seen a glimpse of the future”.
Opher said:
double quotation markAndy Burnham’s win is good for the country. It clearly demonstrates the appeal of progressive politics – and the power of articulating a vision that offers people hope.
We now have the chance to sustainably improve living standards, rebuild our public services, revitalise our democracy, invest in our communities, and make our country a fairer and more secure place to live. We need affordable housing, an education system that works for all, and a health and care system that supports those who needs it. The economy should work for everyone.
Every Labour leader faces the interests of wealth and power who say that this is how it has to be and that a fairer world will never work. If he were to become leader, Andy would be no different.
But I think we have seen a glimpse of the future. Working together, we can build a better society.
A Labour backbencher said the prime minister should set out his timetable to exit Downing Street following Andy Burnham’s victory in Makerfield.
Jon Trickett, MP for Normanton and Hemsworth, said:
double quotation markThe north’s voice has been heard. Andy Burnham’s win in Makerfield is a victory for the Labour movement as a whole which fought a properly organised campaign to defeat the toxic anti-working class politics of the far right.
In the wake of the by election, it’s clear that Farage and his hard-right acolytes can be defeated. However, there can be no more messing about.
Keir Starmer has to immediately state a timetable for his departure as leader, as he is an obstacle to defeating Farage at the next general election.
Updated at 08.21 EDT