Starmer vows to fight as Burnham secures UK parliamentary return in resounding win

LONDON, June 19 — Veteran UK Labour politician Andy Burnham won a crunch by-election on Friday, resoundingly securing a parliamentary seat and clearing the way for his expected bid to oust beleaguered Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Burnham, a former government minister who has been Greater Manchester mayor since 2017, ensured his return to parliament by easily beating the far-right Reform UK party’s candidate in the Makerfield constituency in northwest England.

The 56-year-old longtime figure in centre-left Labour wants to replace Starmer as party leader and prime minister, and needed to win the high-stakes vote to be in a position to trigger such a contest.

“We’ve been on path for 40 years that simply hasn’t worked for people and places in this part of the world,” Burnham told cheering crowds on Friday.

“This is the change moment, we have an opportunity to turn the tide,” he said, adding: “We’re going to lay out a new path for Britain.”

If Starmer does leave office this year, then Britain will get its seventh prime minister in 10 years.

“I do say to my own party, this is a final chance to change,” Burnham had said in his acceptance speech after securing nearly 55 per cent of the vote, beating Reform’s Robert Kenyon by more than 9,000 ballots.

Starmer, congratulated Burnham on X, but again pledged to fight any leadership challenge during a public appearance in London on Friday morning.

“If there is a contest then yes I will run, I will stand. I’ve said repeatedly, I’m not going to walk away from that,” he told reporters.

The 63-year-old ex-lawyer has repeatedly refused to quit despite dozens of calls from his own MPs and several ministerial resignations, insisting that his landslide election victory over the Conservatives in July 2024 gave him a five-year mandate to govern.

‘Transition’

Attention now turns to when Burnham could make his move against Starmer. So what happens next?

All eyes will be on whether Starmer can maintain the support of his cabinet. If senior ministers begin to tell him it is time to go or resign themselves, it would make his position increasingly untenable.

Burnham is due to be sworn in as a member of parliament on Monday. Under Labour party rules, leadership candidates must be an MP.

From the so-called soft-left wing of the party, Burnham has been an outspoken critic of Starmer’s more centrist rule. He will easily muster the support of 81 of Labour’s 400-plus MPs – the minimum needed to kickstart a contest.

The coming days will see negotiations and manoeuvring behind the scenes at the Westminster parliament.

Former health minister Wes Streeting, from Labour’s right wing, has vowed to join any race, but could end up striking a deal with Burnham to avoid a divisive fight.

Harriet Harman, a senior Labour figure and adviser to the prime minister, suggested in comments to the BBC that Starmer, Streeting and Burnham should meet party officials and agree a process for Labour MPs to choose a leader.

With Burnham back in parliament a replacement will need to be elected to fill his old job of mayor of Greater Manchester in northwest England, which city officials have confirmed will be on July 30.

Labour will face another fight with Reform and the Greens, which have both performed well in other recent polls.

Far-right disappointment

Thursday’s vote for the Makerfield seat was seen as a test of whether Burnham could defeat Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, in a national ballot.

Opinion polls suggest Reform could win the next general elections, not expected until 2029.

Farage said in a video on X that he was “disappointed” by Reform’s result, but argued that people had voted primarily to get Starmer out.

The fringe far-right Restore Britain party dented Reform’s vote by snagging nearly seven per cent of the ballot.

Starmer has been clinging to power since Labour suffered a drubbing in local polls in England, Scotland and Wales last month.

He has been rocked by several policy U-turns and a scandal over his appointment of ex-Jeffrey Epstein associate Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to Washington.

Speaking to the BBC, polling expert John Curtice, however, cautioned against any suggestion that Burnham’s victory would lead to a “dramatic” improvement in Labour’s popularity nationwide. — AFP