Andy Burnham, the new Labour Member of Parliament for Makerfield surrounded by supporters on Friday as he celebrates winning the seat in Greater Manchester. Burnham, who has served as the region's mayor since 2017, beat Reform UK candidate Robert Kenyon by more than 9,000 votes. Photo by Adam Vaughan/EPA
June 19 (UPI) -- Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham scored a convincing victory for the ruling Labour Party in a by-election for the parliamentary seat of Makerfield on Friday, winning more seats than all the other parties combined.
The two-time former nominee for the leadership of the party saw off Reform UK in Thursday's poll with 24,927 votes -- 55% of the vote -- against Reform's 15,696, with the official opposition Conservative's candidate pushed into a distant fourth place with only 997 votes.
Burnham's return to parliament to mount an anticipated bid to oust Prime Minister Keir Starmer with Burnham's supporters saying the scale of his win confirmed he was the best person to lead the party -- and by extension -- the country.
In his victory speech in the early hours in the constituency, 20 miles west of Manchester and on the outskirts of Wigan, Burnham said the win could be a "turning point" for Britain.
