Andy Burnham’s by-election victory was impressive but what next for Labour?
Andy Burnham’s victory in the Makerfield by-election was an impressive result. The Mayor of Greater Manchester smashed expectations, winning 54.8 per cent of the votes cast, outperforming all the opinion polls published during the campaign.
It was confirmation of Burnham’s popularity in Greater Manchester. However, winning a by-election and indeed having a successful tenure as Mayor does not mean that it will necessarily translate to success in Number 10. Because that is ultimately the prize that Burnham has his eyes on.
The quirk of the Makerfield by-election is that what would ordinarily be a triumph for Labour and its party leader is likely to create a headache for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Despite warnings to the contrary, the Labour party is set on repeating the mistakes of the Tories with a psychodrama of its own. The PM has already said that he will fight any leadership challenge against him, Burnham has made his ambitions clear and former health secretary Wes Streeting has made plenty of noise about becoming the next leader of the Labour party and Prime Minister.
The only question now remains is the timing of said challenge. Following Burnham’s return to Parliament, there will be a mayoral by-election in Greater Manchester. Those loyal to Starmer rightly point to the importance of retaining the mayoralty for Labour. Labour also cannot afford an elongated leadership contest. The longer it drags on, the more it will alienate the public. Many are already questioning the wisdom behind an internal party struggle when the challenges the country faces are piling up.
Reform UK took a bruising at the polls. Despite its leader Nigel Farage urging people who voted for rival party Restore Britain to “think again”, more voters backed Burnham in the poll than the combined number who voted for Farage’s party and Restore.