In brief
- Former Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has won a parliamentary set in Northern England.
- It opens the path for Burnham to challenge prime minister Keir Starmer for leadership of the UK's Labour party.
Andy Burnham, a mayor in the United Kingdom, has cleared a path to try to oust UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer after winning a parliamentary seat, in what could be the most consequential local election in more than six decades.
Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor nicknamed the "King of the North", won the by-election in Makerfield in north-west England representing Labour with 24,927 votes, while the candidate for Nigel Farage's right-wing Reform UK party came second with 15,696 votes.
His victory means he will now be able to trigger, or at least take part in, a contest to replace Starmer, who is struggling with some of the worst popularity ratings of any UK leader. But the key question is when and how Burnham will do it.
"I do say to my own party, this is a final chance to change," Burnham said in his victory speech on Friday. "There will be no second chance."
Polls show Burnham, 56, is Labour's most popular politician who would win a months-long leadership contest decided by party members, while some Labour politicians hope Starmer could be persuaded to hand over power to avoid a damaging contest.
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Who is Andy Burnham?
Andy Burnham is a career politician. He was first elected as the member for Leigh in Greater Manchester in 2001. By 2009, he'd risen to secretary of state for health in then-prime minister Gordon Brown's cabinet, a post he held until the Labour government resigned following a general election in 2010, after which he became the shadow secretary of state for health.
When Brown resigned as Labour leader in 2010, Burnham embarked on the first of two failed leadership challenges, running on a personal philosophy of "aspirational socialism". Burnham lost out in that ballot, which went to Ed Miliband. He would become the shadow secretary of state for education in Miliband's cabinet.
Burnham's second challenge came ahead of the 2015 general election, seeking to replace Miliband. He ultimately ran second to Jeremy Corbyn in the party ballot.
He was approached by the city of Greater Manchester in 2016 about potentially running for mayor and leapt at the chance, going on to win with 63 per cent of the vote. He has remained the mayor of Greater Manchester ever since — but will have to give up that role before taking up his parliamentary seat.
Burnham rose to national prominence again during the COVID-19 pandemic after he clashed with then-prime minister Boris Johnson's Conservative government over the level of assistance provided to constituents and businesses during lockdown periods.
His clashes with the Johnson government were so popular with the public that they earned him three consecutive mayoral terms and the nickname "the King of the North".
Andy Burnham's political views
When asked about his political views in 2010, Burnham said he considered himself a "socialist" and repeated his philosophy of "aspirational socialism" throughout his first leadership challenge. As mayor of Greater Manchester, he described his policies as "Manchesterism", which he also described as "the end of neo-liberalism" and "business-friendly socialism".
Self-described as part of the "soft left" flank of the Labour Party, he described this philosophy as collectivist, internationalist and redistributive.
He has said that he considers nationalism to be an "ugly brand of politics", putting him in direct opposition to far-right parties in the UK like Reform UK and Restore Britain.
Socially, Burnham's views are broadly left-leaning, stating that he is a supporter of LGBTQI+ rights and voted in favour of same-sex marriage in 2013.
He has also voiced some support for the transgender community on several occasions, but retracted his support for transgender people being allowed to use single-sex facilities after a UK Supreme Court decision on the statutory interpretation of the terms man and woman.
On immigration, Burnham's views have changed over time. In 2016, when shadow home secretary, he told the press that he opposed migration caps and a bill that would require landlords to run immigration checks to flush out illegal immigrants.
In May, however, Burnham said that he supported UK home secretary Shabana Mahmood's plan to limit immigration — both legal and illegal.
The third leadership attempt
Starmer's leadership has been rocked by several policy U-turns and a scandal over his appointment of Peter Mandelson, a former associate of Jeffrey Epstein, as the UK's ambassador to the United States.
Dozens of Labour MPs have called on Starmer to quit, and several ministers have resigned, as national surveys suggest Reform would win the next general election, expected in 2029.
But the 63-year-old ex-lawyer has refused to quit, insisting his landslide election victory over the Conservatives 23 months ago gave him a five-year mandate to govern.
Party rules dictate that any leadership candidates must be sitting members of the parliamentary Labour Party. Amid growing impatience within the centre-left ruling party, now-former Labour MP Josh Simons stood down in Makerfield to clear the way for Burnham's attempt to return to parliament and run for leader.
The unprecedented move thrust the little-known political district into the spotlight, handing its electorate of roughly 77,000 people an outsized say in influencing Starmer's fate.
Turnout was 59 per cent, the highest in a by-election for seven years, with more than 45,000 votes cast.
Where things stand now
All eyes now turn to when Burnham will make his move against Starmer, as Labour will now also face a tough fight to replace him as mayor.
Burnham is due to be sworn in as a member of parliament on Monday.
He will be able to easily muster the support of 81 of Labour's 400-plus MPs — the minimum needed to kickstart a contest.
Starmer has repeatedly said he will fight any challenge, warning his party against a potentially bitter leadership election, but Burnham allies are hopeful ministers can persuade the premier to step down instead.
Another of Starmer's main rivals, former health minister Wes Streeting, said this week he would force a contest soon unless the prime minister announced when he would stand down.
— With reporting by the Reuters and Agence France-Presse news agencies.
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