PM under pressure from Labour MPs and ministers to set timetable for exit
Labour MPs and some ministers are urging a transition plan after Burnham’s 9,231-vote win and a 10% rise in Labour’s vote share, reports say.
- On Friday, Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, won the parliamentary seat of Makerfield in a special election, cementing his status as a top contender to replace Prime Minister Keir Starmer as leader of the Labour Party.
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer has faced cratering popularity since his July 2024 election victory, while the Nigel Farage-led Reform party has rapidly gained ground in post-industrial northern England areas like Makerfield.
- Burnham secured nearly 55% of the 45,510 votes, defeating Reform candidate Robert Kenyon. Nicknamed the 'King of the North,' the 56-year-old politician's decisive win ends his nine-year mayoralty, strengthening his claim as the party's biggest asset, says Rob Ford.
- Starmer insisted he would fight any leadership challenge, stating, "Yes, I will run, I will stand." Under Labour rules, a challenger requires backing from 81 members of the House of Commons to trigger a contest.
- Burnham will head to London as soon as Monday to be sworn in as a lawmaker. Supporters, including Labour lawmaker Louise Haigh, have suggested Starmer should "consider an orderly and managed transition" to do what is best for the country.
57 Articles
57 Articles
Pressure grows on Starmer to step aside for Burnham – UK politics live
Ministers say PM faces being forced out by party if he does not act, with one calling his departure inevitable Cabinet loyalists tell Starmer he has the weekend to set out timetable for exit ‘Within 10 mins, he’d nicked it’: illustrator on his ubiquitous image of Burnham ‘Within 10 mins, Andy had nicked it’: illustrator [...]
Lady Starmer tells PM ‘you can’t walk away’ as Labour MPs plot Andy Burnham's coronation
Sir Keir Starmer’s wife has urged her husband to fight on as Prime Minister following Andy Burnham’s Makerfield by-election win.Lady Starmer, whom Sir Keir has called his "rock", was in attendance alongside the Prime Minister at the G7 summit ahead of polls opening in Makerfield earlier this week. Despite more than 100 Labour MPs calling on Sir Keir to step down, three pro-Starmer aides have claimed that Lady Starmer has steadied the Prime Minis…
UK PM Starmer to Decide on Resignation Over the Weekend
In this The National Pulse article, staff writers report that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces mounting pressure to resign or fight a leadership challenge after rival Andy Burnham’s decisive by-election victory, with Starmer expected to decide his future over the weekend. Burnham, former Greater Manchester Mayor, won the Makerfield seat with a strong majority,...
The Labour rival, winning the Makerfield supplementary election, aims to lead the party and the government. The Prime Minister: "I'm not leaving."Two months ago he was just one of the many names circulating in the Westminster corridors as a possible successor to Keir Starmer. Today, however, many Labourers already consider him the next tenant of Downing Street. Andy Burnham, with the clear victory at the Makerfield supplementary election, has in…
What is going on in the deep British government crisis? Prime Minister Keir Starmer is called upon to resign in an orderly manner, but he is still in office.
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