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Labour mayor Andy Burnham cleared a path to ousting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer after winning a parliamentary seat in northern England on Friday in what could be the most consequential local election in more than six decades.
Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor nicknamed the “King of the North”, won the contest in Makerfield in northwest England with 24,927 votes, while the candidate for Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party came second with 15,696 votes.
His victory means he will now be able to trigger or take part in a contest to replace Starmer, struggling with some of the worst popularity ratings of any leader. But the key question is when and how Burnham will do it.
In his victory speech, Burnham said the result could be a “turning point” for British politics and told his party that this was a final chance to change direction.
