Podcast: Will Andy Burnham Make It in Makerfield?
Burnham’s expected win would show Labour can still compete in areas where Reform UK recently surged, analysts said.
- Labour candidate Andy Burnham is expected to win the Makerfield by-election on Thursday, reflecting the deep trust he built serving nine years as Greater Manchester Mayor.
- Reform previously won an average of 50.4% in the region, but Burnham aims to prove Labour can remain competitive in areas once considered lost after the party's recent electoral collapse.
- Burnham's team mounts a get-out-the-vote operation for 75,000 voters against Reform candidate Rob Kenyon, while activists counter the threat posed by Nigel Farage's insurgent right-wing party.
- A victory would boost Labour morale and intensify pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as party members have already signaled satisfaction with Burnham's strategy to cut welfare funding for defence.
- While a win alone won't resolve all issues, it offers Labour a foundation to build before 2029, as Burnham communicates simple solutions for British politics contrasting with Downing Street's strategic muddle.
13 Articles
13 Articles
der Standard AT
der Standard DEFor many British Prime Minister Starmer is the past. Does Andy Burnham from Platt Bridge embody the future? In by-elections there, the party stands up against Nigel Farage
Burnham is the last chance to save us from the humiliation of Farage as PM
It’s time to give Andy Burnham the credit he deserves. He has fought an accomplished, ferocious campaign. On Thursday, 75,000 voters in Makerfield will effectively decide the future of the country. If Reform wins, we face the national humiliation of a Nigel Farage government. It’ll feel unstoppable. But if Burnham wins, there is finally a fighting chance to change things for the better. Who would have thought that this man, who was once a plain …
Starmer’s Waterloo? Andy Burnham emerges as Labor’s answer to Reform Party surge
A parliamentary election Thursday in a working-class district on the outskirts of Manchester, England, has become a surprisingly critical referendum on Prime Minister Keir Starmer's leadership -- and perhaps the future of British politics.
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