Pressure is mounting on Keir Starmer after allies of Andy Burnham concluded that the Prime Minister should, it is understood, spell out a timetable in the coming days to leave office in September rather than risk damaging Labour’s chances in the looming Greater Manchester mayoral contest.
Burnham’s win in the Makerfield by-election has sharpened the struggle over the future of No 10, with Starmer making clear earlier today that he intends to resist any attempt to force him out.
Supporters close to the outgoing Greater Manchester mayor are not pushing for an immediate handover, it is understood, arguing that time is needed to prepare for government if he succeeds in unseating Starmer.
Burnham’s election today as MP for Makerfield also triggers his departure from the mayoralty he has held since 2017, with voters due to choose his successor on 30 July.
Those around Burnham are understood to want Starmer to outline a September exit over the next few days, with some convinced Labour will face a tougher fight to hold the mayoralty if there is no clear prospect of a change at the top.
Burnham says his win could mark a ‘turning point’
Starmer, however, has said he will take on his opponents if Burnham’s return to Westminster sparks a formal contest, after the former mayor bucked national trends and pushed Labour’s vote share higher in Makerfield.
The Prime Minister said he will not “walk away” from Downing Street and has spent the aftermath of the by-election result calling cabinet colleagues to reinforce support, as first reported by The i Paper.
Speaking to reporters at an event in north London, Starmer said: “If there is a contest, then yes, I will stand.
“I have said repeatedly, I am not going to walk away from that.”
He said he had not yet spoken directly to Burnham since the victory, but added that he planned to do so and had already sent a congratulatory message.
During a lunchtime call with Labour staff, he urged the party to “pull together” as it takes on Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and warned members not to start “turning on each other”.
He said: “The one thing we’ve got to avoid doing is plunging our party and our country into chaos by turning on each other and tearing apart our party and our movement.
“That has never worked. That’s what the last government did. We need to learn that lesson.”
Read more: From Wigan Pier to Westminster – and this time it was decisive
Starmer is understood to have built up a war chest to bankroll any leadership fight, with support from a group of private donors, as first reported by The Times.
Fundraising has accelerated over the past two days, with total pledges reaching six figures, according to sources.
Addressing a Labour rally after his win, Burnham said: “We’ve been on a path for 40 years that simply hasn’t worked for people and places in this part of the world, and this now is the change moment.
“We have an opportunity to turn the tide, to make the country feel like it’s working again, to make people see that politics can make a positive difference, to make people feel hope again.”
He added: “I think we need in this country right now for people to feel a sense of hope that there is something better to work towards on the horizon.”
Offering a glimpse of what he would prioritise if he replaces Starmer, Burnham pointed to reindustrialisation, Whitehall reform and an end to what he called the “unfairness” of the immigration system.
Makerfield is the third parliamentary by-election in a row in which Farage’s party has finished second over the past year, after the Caerphilly Welsh parliament by-election in October and the Gorton and Denton Westminster by-election in February.
The count in the Makerfield by-election
Burnham beat Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon by 9,231 votes, an increase from 5,399 in 2024, while Labour’s vote share rose by 9.61%.
After the result, he said Labour had a “final chance to change” and warned the party to seize the moment because there would not be another one.
He said: “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.”
Seeking to rebut claims that he was using Makerfield simply as a platform for higher office, he said: “It will never be a stepping stone to me, but instead will be my touchstone.
“A Makerfield test at the heart of British politics will make sure that the places Westminster has neglected will now get fairness.”
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Louise Haigh, a former minister in Starmer’s cabinet, urged the Prime Minister to map out an orderly transition and agree a “path forward” with Burnham within days.
She said: “I hope the Prime Minister takes the weekend to really reflect on the result here – listen to soundings from the Cabinet and the PLP, because all the evidence suggests that a contest will be brutal, it will be unpleasant and it will be very unlikely that the Prime Minister is going to win at the end of it.”
Asked whether a campaign was already prepared, she replied: “Yes.”
Haigh said: “We really hope that this can be a managed and orderly transition and Keir Starmer will reflect on the results, and Andy and Keir can meet in the coming days, and over the next week, and agree a path forward.”
She said that “all the agency is in Keir Starmer’s hands” and added that she hoped he would handle the moment in “a dignified way”.
Taoiseach offers congratulations after Burnham victory
Taoiseach Micheál Martin congratulated Burnham on winning the by-election.
“I congratulate him on his success,” Martin told reporters as he arrived for the second day of an EU summit in Brussels.
“I know Andy, I’ve met him on a number of occasions. He has taken a particular interest in Ireland, and he has come to see us on a number of occasions, particularly on the economy and in respect of his role as a mayor in Manchester. He was particularly focused on Irish economic policy and development.”
The Taoiseach said he had met Burnham at an Anglo-Irish summit in Liverpool two years ago: “Andy was there with Keir Starmer. It was very positive.”
“It was a solid victory in the by-election, which shows what’s possible, despite all of the fragmentation and challenges of modern politics.
“He campaigned well and effectively and things can happen. So I wish him well in his parliamentary career. Beyond that, I’ve no further comment.”
Additional reporting Tony Connelly
