Andy Burnham wins Makerfield by-election, reshaping Labour leadership and Greater Manchester contests

My day in Makerfield, the seat at the centre of the political universe

The 14 candidates in the Makerfield by-election take to the stage for this morning’s announcement (Picture: Craig Munro) From the moment I stepped out of Wigan North Western railway station, it was clear something unusual was taking place. The first person I saw on the street outside was Darren Jones MP, the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister. And on top of that, people were asking him for a selfie. It should go without saying that this is not the sort of thing that would normally happen in the centre of Wigan. But it was not a normal day. This was June 18 2026 – the date of a vote so crucial, political reporters had quickly run out of superlatives to describe it. ‘The most consequential by-election in modern British history’ seemed to be the consensus. I had come to visit Makerfield. Follow Metro’s live coverage of the Makerfield by-election results here Everything is changing, all the time Cut through political noise and understand how the Westminster chaos actually affects your life with Metro's politics newsletter Alright, Gov? Sign up here. My hotel sat just outside the constituency in Wigan itself, the seat of Culture Secretary and top Andy Burnham backer Lisa Nandy, so I needed to start by catching some public transport south. Immediately, I was struck by the number of bright yellow Bee Network buses passing through the town centre. I hopped on the 610, heading for Ashton-in-Makerfield. This integrated transport system was one of Burnham’s top initiatives during his spell as Mayor of Greater Manchester, and it was hard to shake the idea that each vehicle was the equivalent of a big ‘Vote Andy’ sign. (Compare that to the turquoise Reform-branded double-decker that was blocking off a bus stop on the Wigan Road, much to the chagrin of the schoolchildren behind me.) Andy Burnham with a fleet of Greater Manchester’s Bee Network buses (Picture: PA) The bus passed plenty of garden signs for Reform and Labour, only a few of which had been defaced. We also saw a group of supporters for Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain party parked in the central reservation and waving flags. There were also a few enthusiastic Burnham backers holding up signs at the side of the road, and I got off to chat with a few of them. They had travelled up from London – not unusual for a by-election campaign, it’s important to say – and were infused with a positive spirit. The group received many supportive honks from passing cars and, more surprisingly, a few from passing yellow buses. Bee drivers clearly aren’t shy about their affinity for Andy. While I stood there chatting, there was just one instance of a car passenger yelling a nasty word that begins with ‘w’ and ends in ‘kers’ from the window. I reckon the ratio would be rather different in any other Labour campaign. Arriving in the centre of Ashton, a crowd of Reform campaigners had taken over all sides of the road in a busy junction. The women I spoke to there had also travelled up from London. Posters supporting Andy Burnham fill Ashton-in-Makerfield (Picture: Gary Oakley/PA Wire) They, too, were upbeat about the campaign though deeply negative about the state of the country. The plight of the yachting couple who faced warning shots from a Russian vessel in the Channel recently was raised. When I asked about the idea that voting Burnham was the quickest way to oust Sir Keir Starmer as PM, they weren’t having it: ‘Burnham would be out too in a few months anyway.’ One older local lady set out one of the biggest problems Reform were facing, though. She described the party’s candidate Robert Kenyon as a ‘sexist’, reflecting controversy over past social media posts. (Both Kenyon and Reform UK have repeatedly rejected this characterisation.) Though she was not enamoured with many politicians these days, she said she had voted Burnham – despite resolutely refusing to tell a door-knocker who she would be backing earlier in the day. This woman may have been an example of what another Reform activist described to me as the ‘shy Labour vote’ – people who didn’t want to admit they were supporting a party that’s had a bit of a brand crisis lately. The Edge in Wigan, where votes in the Makerfield by-election were counted (Picture: Craig Munro) Less than 12 hours later, in a venue called The Edge beside the famous Wigan Pier, the extent of that phenomenon was made astoundingly clear. Polls in the lead-up to the by-election had suggested Burnham would end up with 45% of the vote, a small margin ahead of Kenyon. In the actual event, Labour ended up with just under 55% – a full 20% above Reform. In the time it took for me to edit a TikTok video of the vote count announcement, almost everyone had shuffled out from the hall. This northern constituency’s time at the centre of the nation’s attention had come to an end. But despite the lofty ambitions of the winning candidate, he vowed to make sure we all stay familiar with its name. ‘Everyone can feel that the country isn’t where it should be. Tonight could, just could, be the turning point,’ Burnham said in his victory speech. ‘From here on I will give everything I have got to make it so. To ensure the name Makerfield is forever synonymous with bringing about the change this country needs, bringing back something we’ve lost – hope – hope for the future.’ Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page. 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18 hours ago

Andy Burnham is coming back to Westminster – what happens now?

Greater Manchester mayor and Labour candidate Andy Burnham arrived at the count roomwith a large smile on his face (PIcture: REUTERS) The biggest gamble in modern UK politics has paid off. Andy Burnham has won in Makerfield, and now has a seat in Parliament. It’s worth remembering this was never a guaranteed result: when Josh Simons announced he was stepping down as the constituency MP to make way for the Mayor of Greater Manchester last month, just one week had passed since Reform won big in the area’s local elections. No doubt, the nightmare scenario has been playing out in Labour minds for the past five weeks. If Burnham was to lose to Reform, it would effectively have demonstrated there is no way back for the party. Its brand was so irredeemably tainted that it failed the most popular politician in the country, even as he made clear his desire to overthrow the unpopular leader. The by-election, which was run purely to secure a seat for Andy Burnham, has done exactly that (Credits: Victoria Jones/Shutterstock) That did not happen. Instead, their candidate showed there is a way back from the polling doldrums, and maybe – just maybe – a Reform government led by Nigel Farage isn’t an inevitability. Everything is changing, all the time Cut through political noise and understand how the Westminster chaos actually affects your life with Metro's politics newsletter Alright, Gov? Sign up here. So, don’t underestimate the monumental sigh of relief that emanated from the counting hall in Wigan’s The Edge venue and the party HQ on London’s Rushworth Street this morning – perhaps even from backers of Sir Keir Starmer. But as I wrote earlier this week, the result in Makerfield represents the end of just one little narrative thread from the dramatic week that followed the local elections last month. We’re about to learn what happens next. Burnham and his team will have been planning his initial moves ever since this by-election was secured. He will sit down with Starmer this weekend, and that chat will likely involve the ex-Mayor gently suggesting the PM set out a timetable for his departure. We still don’t know how Starmer will play this. Of course, he’s been saying for weeks that he will fight any leadership contest – but what else could he possibly say? What if he committed to a handover… then Burnham lost? Reform leader Nigel Farage with his candidate, plumber Robert Kenyon (Picture: Victoria Jones/Shutterstock) However, all signs point towards a stubborn PM insisting he has a five-year mandate to serve the country and a duty to provide stability. It may be a tough job to convince him otherwise. Which is where Burnham’s allies in the Cabinet will come in. Top ministers like Ed Miliband and Lisa Nandy may tell Starmer they can’t continue to serve in his government if he’s going to cling on. Things could get messy over the next week. In the meantime, the battle to replace Burnham as Mayor of Greater Manchester kicks off. This could prove to be the first big electoral test for a Labour Party that, it is now widely assumed, will soon be led by the now-former Mayor. Will Mancunians and those in the towns and villages surrounding the city signal they still have faith in the party without Burnham as its candidate? There’s been chat of them running a big name like Gary Neville to grab attention – but the ex-Man United star has apparently ruled that out. Keir Starmer did not travel to Makerfield to help Burnham campaign (Picture: Carlos Jasso/PA Wire) The mayoralty would be a major prize for Reform, who will throw everything they can at it in an effort to dampen Labour’s zeal after this morning’s result. However, the Green Party was the big winner at the city’s local elections last month, bagging 18 seats as Labour lost 24. There’s every chance Manchester will face a three-horse race for the position. Interestingly, this election will take place under a different voting system to the one used to elect Burnham in 2024. The supplementary vote (SV) system takes into account ranked preferences, which might make it more difficult for Reform to clinch it. All of the above is a long way of delivering a simple message: if you were thinking today’s result would represent the high-water mark for political drama this summer, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

1 day ago