LONDON — Andy Burnham took his first step to potentially becoming the next British prime minister Friday, winning a special election in the small northwest England area of Makerfield.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, has openly discussed mounting an effort to replace Keir Starmer, the current prime minister, as leader of the ruling center-left Labour Party.Starmer is historically unpopular in Britain after a series of scandals and policy missteps, with critics accusing him of lacking a political vision for remedying the country’s stagnant post-Brexit economy.Winning Thursday’s election secures Burnham’s return to Parliament and clears the path for him to bring a challenge against Starmer.
Mutinous Labour MPs have been openly calling for a change of leader for months, fearful that Starmer would lead the party to a defeat in the next election and usher in the hard-right Reform UK, led by Donald Trump ally Nigel Farage.The results of the special election, called a “by-election” in Britain, came in early Friday showing Burnham had defeated his Reform opponent, Robert Kenyon, by 24,927 votes to 15,696.“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,” Burnham said on stage after the result was announced.Burnham characterized the vote as a vote for change.
“This result will bring about a country that works fairly for everywhere and for everybody,” he said.British by-elections are often sleepy affairs with results that are foregone conclusions, but the battle in Makerfield has been closely watched due to its national significance and the unusual circumstances by which it came about.The area’s Labour MP, Josh Simons, resigned with the deliberate intent of allowing Burnham to win the seat, enter Parliament and seek the leadership.The ...