Andy Burnham was heading for a showdown Labour leadership contest against Sir Keir Starmer after storming to victory in the Makerfield by-election.The now former Greater Manchester Mayor beat Reform UK’s candidate Robert Kenyon by a majority of 9,231, nearly 4,000 more than Labour achieved at the 2024 general election.He gained 54.8% of the votes cast, outperforming opinion polls.Mr Kenyon trailed in second place with 34.5% of the vote.The victory gave Mr Burnham a triumphant path back to Parliament which was gripped by talk that he could launch a move to replace Sir Keir within weeks, possibly even days.
