In the end, it was not even close. Andy Burnham has won the Makerfield by-election by a landslide, putting him firmly on course to be Britain’s next Prime Minister. The Mayor of Greater Manchester managed to comfortably beat even the most optimistic of polls by winning an impressive 24,937 votes (54.8 per cent), more than 20 points higher than Reform’s Robert Kenyon 15,696 (34.5 per cent). In a distant third came Restore Britain’s Rebecca Shepherd who took 3,111 votes (6.8 per cent), enough to keep her deposit. In an impassioned address, Burnham suggested tonight ‘could be the turning point’ for the country and the ‘final chance to change’ for the Labour party.
It was just six weeks ago, at the local elections, that Labour won just 24 per cent of the vote here in Makerfield. By dint of his stature and status as a PM-designate, Burnham has managed to completely turn that around, winning a majority of almost 10,000 on a 23-point swing. He did that by winning back those Labour voters who have switched to Nigel Farage’s party since the general election and convincing progressives who backed rival forces two years ago. There was strikingly little movement between the ‘left’ and ‘right’ voting blocs since 2024, suggesting that Burnham was able to win by uniting the left completely behind him and running a ‘Stop Reform’ campaign. ‘This is how we win nationally’, was one supporter’s remark shortly after Burnham claimed victory.
