Voters in Makerfield, northwest England, began casting their ballots on Thursday in a by-election that could reverberate far beyond the constituency, shaping the future of Labour and testing Keir Starmer’s grip on power.
Andy Burnham is contesting the Greater Manchester seat for Labour as he seeks a return to Westminster — and with it, a route to challenge Mr Starmer and ultimately replace him as prime minister.
On Wednesday, Mr Starmer said he would be prepared to hand the Greater Manchester mayor a “big” role in government if Mr Burnham wins once the votes are counted.
Burnham allies, however, said the offer held little appeal. They argued that “the benefit Andy has is the wind of change for not having been associated with the Government’s failings”.
Even so, the prime minister has repeatedly insisted he will not step aside and has said he is ready to confront any attempt to unseat him.
The Guardian reported that Mr Burnham’s camp had persuaded several cabinet ministers not to resign prematurely, in an effort to stop the government sliding into turmoil before polling day.
Reform’s candidate Robert Kenyon has emerged as Andy Burnham’s closest challenger
According to the newspaper, Burnham backers inside government had been prepared to walk out early in a bid to force the prime minister to clear the way for their preferred contender.
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.
A source told the paper that “no deals were done” at that meeting.
Mr Starmer has said he intends to call Mr Burnham “after the weekend”.
But pressure on the Prime Minister could build quickly, with the prospect of a leadership contest looming if he refuses to make way. Mr Streeting has signalled he would be prepared to set that race in motion.
At his final campaign event on Wednesday evening, Mr Burnham told supporters that 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.”
Burnham’s closest rival in Makerfield is Robert Kenyon of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, a party that polling has suggested is shedding support to Restore Britain, a movement to its right that takes a harder line on migration and other issues.
In a final appeal to voters, Mr Burnham urged the electorate not to back Mr Kenyon, warning that a Reform victory 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 on Thursday.
The other two are in the Scottish constituencies of Aberdeen South, and Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, where SNP MPs Stephen Gethins and Stephen Flynn stepped down after winning election to the Scottish Parliament in May.
