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Makerfield byelection: Burnham’s decisive win intensifies pressure on Starmer to step aside – UK politics live

Reform UK to Labour.  Swing in Makerfield between local elections and byelection. Photograph: More in Common But he says in the byelection the left

Farage vows to ban foreign nationals from social housing as byelection looms

Reform UK byelection candidate Robert Kenyon in Makerfield. Photograph: Temilade Adelaja/Reuters In his 6,800 word essay, Farage also describes the result

‘I’m not a Labour fan but I like Burnham’: relief in Makerfield among left, right and centre

Reform UK and Restore Britain. “Two years ago the Liberal Democrat and Green candidates won 11% of the Makerfield vote,” veteran pollster Peter Kellner [noted in his analysis](https://kellnerp.substack.com/p/four-take-aways-from-burnhams-big) of the byelection result

Reform investigates whether Makerfield candidate’s sexist posts were costly

Reform UK is examining whether sexist comments by its candidate in the [Makerfield byelection](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/makerfield-byelection) might have harmed the party’s chances, after Nigel Farage accepted the result

‘Astonishing’ win for Andy Burnham puts pressure on Starmer to step aside

Makerfield byelection. Photograph: Temilade Adelaja/Reuters In fighting the byelection, the Greater Manchester mayor wanted not only to return to Westminster to challenge the prime minister, but also to show how Reform UK can be taken

In Nigel Farage’s shoes, a less experienced politician might panic

Reform UK has now led in more than 300 consecutive national polls. When it comes to byelections, though, it is fair to say the party’s results are more mixed. Yes, Robert Kenyon [came second

Starmer is not setting out timetable for his departure, says David Lammy

results,” Lammy said. “We now need to unite and pull together. We have a byelection to fight. We need to remember our responsibilities as a government. We are not in opposition. We have the levers

Friday briefing: Andy Burnham wins Makerfield byelection to set up possible leadership bid

result mean for Reform?** This was a bad night for Reform: the party needs to win left-behind, Leave-voting seats like Makerfield with ease if they are to have any hope of securing victory

Andy Burnham says he will not try to return UK to EU

byelection campaign – saying his fight against Reform UK would centre on what could change for places like that. “I want to say sorry to the residents of the Makerfield constituency, for the circus that

Andy Burnham vows to ‘change Labour’ in direct challenge to Keir Starmer

byelection campaign – saying his fight against Reform UK would centre on what could change for such places. “I want to say sorry to the residents of the Makerfield constituency, for the circus that is about

Andy Burnham faces perilous race to win Makerfield byelection, allies say

UK should seek to rejoin the EU](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/17/culture-secretary-lisa-nandy-says-wes-streeting-rejoin-eu-call-odd). The outcome of the byelection is likely to determine not only the immediate political future of Keir Starmer, whom Burnham has pledged to challenge

Andy Burnham wins huge majority in Makerfield byelection, paving way for Starmer leadership challenge

Makerfield byelection](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/makerfield-byelection), paving the way for his return to Westminster and a likely tilt at the Labour leadership. The outgoing mayor of [Greater Manchester](https://www.theguardian.com/uk/greater-manchester) promised “change” after winning

Farage suddenly returns to political stage – but dodges questions about £5m gift

byelection candidate, to announce a policy supporting white van tradesmen. The [Reform UK](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/brexit-party) leader highlighted red tape faced by small businesses and dismissed Restore Britain as only popular because it is being

Labour campaigners in Makerfield fear their sheer numbers may annoy voters

byelection is seen to be a contest between Andy Burnham of Labour and Robert Kenyon of Reform UK. Photograph: Rod Harbinson/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock All polls in the constituency have given Burnham a clear lead over

Burnham’s momentum builds in Makerfield as byelection nears

UK. One MP said observing their colleagues make the pilgrimage to Ashton-in-Makerfield felt “like watching power change hands in a pub garden”: a few loyalist MPs looking at their shoes on the outskirts

No 10 braced for ‘excruciating’ revelations as Mandelson files published – UK politics live

Makerfield byelection, it is worth reading [this thread](https://bsky.app/profile/luketryl.bsky.social/post/3mn7zwvmjhy2n) from the More in Common pollster **Luke Tryl** about what he has picked up from focus groups in the constituency. Here

Could ‘king in the north’ become Britain’s new prime minister?

byelection in Makerfield – it gave Burnham his much-craved path back to Westminster, and a chance to challenge Keir Starmer to become prime minister. Burnham is that rare breed in British politics. He has been

Andy Burnham seeks advice from Sue Gray on forming future Labour government

byelection, likely to be a pivotal moment for the Labour party’s future direction and Burnham’s political trajectory. Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, criticised the internal jockeying, telling

How team Burnham finally cleared the first of many hurdles on route to Westminster

byelection](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jan/25/andy-burnham-blocked-from-byelection-race-by-labour-ruling-committee).  Wes Streeting attending the state opening of parliament the day before he resigned as health secretary. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters The mood among

Reform MP refuses to say whether Farage should produce evidence for Russian hack claim

UK’s security services to support his claim he was hacked by Russian agents. Farage has come under mounting pressure to substantiate the claim that a state-sponsored Russian hack was behind the disclosure [published