Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham won a special election in the United Kingdom on Thursday. The Labour Party candidate defeated Rob Kenyon of the Reform U.K. party to return to Parliament in the seat for Makerfield, a small area in Greater Manchester county in northwest England. He received 24,927 votes to Kenyon’s 15,696, earning 54.8% of all votes.
Burnham’s win could spell political doom for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, putting him on a path for a political clash with the immensely unpopular prime minister. Given Starmer’s political vulnerability, Burnham hinted at further political ambitions in his victory speech on Thursday.
“Everyone knows that politics isn’t working,” said Burnham. “Everyone can feel that the country isn’t where it should be. Tonight could, just could, be the turning point.”
Burnham was a member of Parliament from 2001 to 2017 for Leigh, a different part of Greater Manchester. During those years, Burnham ran as a member of the Labour and Cooperative party and held various Cabinet positions during his time in office, the most recent being secretary of state for health, doing so from 2009 to 2010. He was also previously Parliamentary private secretary, chief secretary to the treasury, and secretary of state for culture, media, and sport. He reportedly identifies as a socialist.
Burnham’s candidacy was built on the idea of being a catalyst for change in his country. He reiterated this theme on Thursday, asserting that his victory was a mandate to reject Britain’s status quo.
“This result will bring about a country that works fairly for everywhere and for everybody,” said the longtime politician.
That vote for change could spell doom for Starmer, who has been plagued by scandals and questionable policy decisions during his time in office. The political optimism that ushered him to his landslide election victory in 2024 has evaporated. Starmer is extremely unpopular in Britain, with 69% viewing him “unfavorably” according to a YouGov poll from May.
Meanwhile, in the same poll, Burnham is considered the “most popular Labour figure among the public,” holding a net positivity score of +4. He is the only Labour political candidate that voters “view positively,” according to YouGov.
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Burnham’s ascension to Parliament could be the beginning of the end for Starmer. Labour MPs have been demanding a change in leadership in Britain for months, NBC News reported. His own colleagues have called for Starmer to step down for a variety of reasons, with 110 of them signing a letter urging his resignation. To replace Starmer, Burnham would first need to file an official leadership challenge by earning support from 81 Labour colleagues. He would then have to defeat Starmer in a political faceoff in Parliament to become Britain’s next prime minister.
And while Burnham repeatedly touted his election victory as a sign that voters want change, he has not yet announced any plans to challenge Starmer. Instead, he promoted a vision of an optimistic future for his country, built on unity, and to avoid the bitter political contentiousness witnessed in other countries, particularly in one of Britain’s strongest allies over the years.
“But it is a chance now, from this result tonight, to build a new politics based on unity and hope, turning away from the path that takes us to a divided, dark politics of the kind we see in the United States,” said Burnham.