Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, has become MP for Makerfield and is now the frontrunner to become Britain's next prime minister.
His seismic victory in the northern seat in the early hours of Friday will have major consequences for the country.
Burnham, often called the "King of the North", has bucked all the trends.
Just last month, Nigel Farage's Reform UK party won big in Makerfield, a largely working-class seat, in the local elections. Labour trailed 20 percentage points behind the right-wing party.
Stunningly, however, Burnham won the by-election with 55 percent of the vote, trouncing Reform, which came a distant second on 35 percent.
