Votes are now being counted in Makerfield, northwest England, after voters cast ballots in a by-election that could prove to be one of the most politically significant contests Britain has seen in years.
Andy Burnham, standing for Labour in the Greater Manchester seat as he seeks a return to Westminster and a route to unseating Keir Starmer as prime minister, called on voters to “vote to change politics”.
Mr Starmer said yesterday he would be prepared to hand the Mayor of Greater Manchester a “big” role in government if Mr Burnham emerges victorious once the count is complete.
But allies of Mr Burnham dismissed the offer, saying he had no interest in it and arguing that “the benefit Andy has is the wind of change for not having been associated with the government’s failings”.
Makerfield Count Centre, one hour in… pic.twitter.com/HOuIL7AVn4
— seanwhelanRTE (@seanwhelanRTE) June 18, 2026
Even so, the prime minister has repeatedly insisted he will not step aside and has said he is ready to resist any attempt to remove him.
Andy Burnham meeting supporters at Labour’s campaign headquarters in Ashton-in-Makerfield
The Guardian reported that several cabinet ministers were persuaded by figures in Mr Burnham’s camp not to resign before polling day, amid fears the government could spiral into chaos ahead of the contest.
According to the newspaper, Mr Burnham’s supporters in government had planned to quit early in an effort to force the prime minister to make way for his challenger.
The Guardian also reported that Wes Streeting, the former health secretary who resigned as he prepared a possible Labour leadership run, met Mr Burnham while campaigning in Makerfield on Monday.
One source told the newspaper that “no deals were done” at that meeting.
Mr Starmer has said he intends to call Mr Burnham “after the weekend”.
But the Prime Minister could quickly come under pressure either to allow a leadership contest or to resign, after Mr Streeting indicated he would be willing to set such a race in motion.
At his final campaign event yesterday evening, Mr Burnham said the by-election would send a message to Westminster that “change is coming”.
“This is a chance to vote for change, for change in politics, for change in our economy, to vote for people, to make life better for people,” he said, later adding: “It is a vote for Makerfield. It is a vote for hope.”
Reform UK’s Makerfield candidate Rob Kenyon arrived to cast his vote alongside party leader Nigel Farage
Mr Burnham’s closest challenger in Makerfield is Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, though polling has suggested the party is losing support to Restore Britain, a movement to its right that has taken a harder line on migration and other issues.
Reform UK’s Makerfield candidate Rob Kenyon arrived to vote at St Aidan’s Parish Centre in Winstanley this morning accompanied by Mr Farage.
Mr Kenyon, a plumber wearing an England football shirt, pulled up at the polling station in his white van, with Mr Farage sitting in the passenger seat.
Roughly 20 members of the media gathered outside the venue to photograph and film their arrival.
In a final appeal to voters, Mr Burnham urged them not to support Mr Kenyon, warning that a Reform UK win could usher in a “darker and more divided politics”.
“There is a path that carries on and makes Britain look more and more like the United States of America, and we do not, in my view, want to end up there, where people can’t talk to each other in the street. That’s not the Britain I know, and the Britain that I love, and that’s not the path that we should be taking,” Mr Burnham said.
Makerfield is one of three parliamentary by-elections being held today.
The other two are in the Scottish constituencies of Aberdeen South, and Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, where SNP MPs Stephen Gethins and Stephen Flynn stood down after winning election to the Scottish Parliament in May.
