Andy Burnham's election to parliament sets up bid to oust UK PM Starmer

Labour mayor Andy Burnham has won a parliamentary seat in northern England, potentially paving the way for him to challenge British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Labour mayor ‌Andy Burnham ​cleared a path to attempt to oust British Prime Minister Keir Starmer after winning a parliamentary seat in northern England on Friday in what could be 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 of ‌the 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. "We must hear it, we must act upon it, and we must get it right," he said. "There will be no second chance."

Burnham, a career politician ‌who has expressed support for the nationalisation of key public services and criticised what he called four decades of failed neoliberal economics, has said he would seek to replace Starmer and change politics. Polls show Burnham, 56, is Labour's most popular politician who would win a months-long leadership contest decided by party members, while some Labour lawmakers hope Starmer could be persuaded to hand over power to avoid a damaging contest.

LABOUR DIVISIONS DEEPEN AS PRESSURE GROWS ON STARMER Two years after winning a landslide national election, Starmer, 63, is one of the ⁠least popular ​British prime ministers since polling records began after scandals, policy ⁠U-turns, and accusations of indecision have derailed the delivery of the change he once promised.

About a quarter of Starmer's lawmakers have called for him to quit since his party suffered heavy losses in local elections last month, while senior colleagues, including the defence and health minister, resigned ⁠in recent weeks over his leadership. A defiant Starmer said this week he would stand in any leadership contest and issued a warning to his party about the potential "chaos" of a potentially bitter and divisive leadership election.

Another of Starmer's main rivals, former ​health minister Wes Streeting, said this week he would force a contest soon unless the prime minister announced when he would stand down. Under Labour rules, it would take 20% of the parliamentary party, ⁠or 81 lawmakers, to announce they were backing a single candidate to trigger a leadership challenge.

If Starmer is ousted, Britain will be on its seventh prime ministers in about a decade, the highest turnover in nearly two centuries, as voters punish leaders who failed to improve ⁠living standards, ​public services and tackle illegal immigration. RESULT HIGHLIGHTS BATTLEGROUNDS SHAPING NEXT UK ELECTION

The contest in Makerfield was a microcosm of the political battle likely to shape Britain's next general election, due by 2029, when Labour and Reform are expected to be the leading contenders for power. The result shows Burnham is capable of defeating Reform in an area once part of Britain's industrial heartlands, which are likely to play an important role in deciding ⁠who forms the government at the next election.

During a month-long campaign, Burnham has acted like a prime minister-in-waiting explaining policies for a potential future government. Burnham has repeatedly tried to reassure nervous investors by insisting he would ⁠stick to the government's fiscal rules and not put up ⁠any of the main taxes.

This was after he said last year Britain was "in hock" to the bond markets, comments interpreted as meaning he would increase government borrowing. He has since said those comments were misrepresented. Political historians say the election for Makerfield could be the most important one-off vote for a parliamentary seat in Britain since 1963 ‌when the then Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home - ‌who had a hereditary seat in parliament - stood for election to the House of Commons to cement his ​position.