Labour mayor Andy Burnham cleared a path on Friday to ousting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, potentially ushering in a new bout of political instability, by decisively winning a parliamentary seat in northern England.
Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor nicknamed “King of the North”, won the contest in Makerfield in northwest England with 54.8 per cent of the vote, beating the candidate for Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party, on 34.5 per cent.
The scale of Burnham’s victory in what could be the most consequential by-election in more than six decades puts him in a strong position to challenge Starmer, struggling with some of the worst popularity ratings of any British leader.
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Burnham indicated he wanted to counter the rise of polarising, populist politics, saying his victory was a chance to turn “away from the path that takes us to a divided, dark politics of the kind we see in the United States”.
Attention now turns to the timing of his move, and whether he can convince the prime minister to relinquish power without a potentially disruptive leadership contest.
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In his victory speech, Burnham said the result could be a “turning point”.