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UK net migration needs to fall further, says Andy Burnham

by-election in the Greater Manchester constituency. He is widely expected to challenge Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership, should he become an MP. Speaking at his campaign launch on Friday, Burnham

Starmer can survive a leadership challenge, says attorney general

results,](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz62dwe30wdo) leading to calls for Sir Keir to go. Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting and a handful of junior ministers [quit the government in the aftermath](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgkpr6y3266o). Greater Manchester Mayor

Healey quits as defence secretary in row over military spending

future in Downing Street was already in doubt. It also comes days before a crucial by-election at which Labour candidate Andy Burnham is seeking a return to Westminster to enable him to challenge

Personal decision for Starmer on whether to fight leadership contest, minister says

Starmer whether he chooses to fight any potential leadership contest, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said. She told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that Sir Keir had "shown before that

Historic by-election win sends message to Labour and SNP - Badenoch

Keir Starmer's leadership. Badenoch said: "The Makerfield by-election was about one man's job. "The Aberdeen South by-election was about thousands of jobs all over the country but especially

Andy Burnham to make bid to return to Commons as pressure mounts on Starmer

Starmer's leadership. Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, said he would seek permission to run for Labour in Makerfield after Labour MP Josh Simons said he would resign to make way for him. It came

The anti-Semitism smear that ruined Corbyn’s Labour now targets the Greens

Keir Starmer, it managed to secure just four seats in parliament. But the party’s fortunes began to change rapidly in the Starmer era. With the Conservatives and the Labour government now reduced

The small-town voters deciding the UK’s future are demanding change, our focus group found

future are demanding change, our focus group found ASHTON-IN-MAKERFIELD, England — Voters in perhaps the most consequential special election ever held in Britain are angry, and they really want someone to feel their pain

Armed forces minister quits after Healey exit as defence funding row deepens

Starmer over funding for the military. Al Carns resigned on Thursday evening, writing to Sir Keir to tell him the government's defence investment plan (DIP) was "neither transformative enough nor sufficiently funded". It came

Burnham says he would seek to enter any Labour leadership contest

results last month. No formal challenge has been launched against him. Sir Keir also said he would not "walk away" from Downing Street despite suffering ministerial resignations, [most notably from former Health Secretary Wes Streeting

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

by-elections… Caerphilly, Gorton and Denton, Makerfield… the tactical vote to keep Reform ‘out’ is being mobilised with significant impact. Tactical voting is cemented as a defining feature of our politics. [From](https://x.com/adampayne26/status/2067812277214957911)

Pressure mounts on embattled UK PM Keir Starmer as rivals circle

Keir Starmer’s administration is embroiled in turmoil amid a [calamitous local election](/news/2026/5/8/leader-of-the-pack-what-next-as-reform-makes-huge-election-gains) result for the Labour Party last week. Starmer, who has been [dogged by controversy](/news/2026/4/20/uk-pm-starmer-admits-mistaken-call-on-mandelson-rejects-calls-to-resign) over the appointment of Jeffrey Epstein

May elections live: millions cast their votes across England, Scotland and Wales

by-elections, one of them producing a Tory hold, the other a Labour hold. The net outcome is that Labour currently has 28 seats, the Tories 24 and Reform two. Several Westminster wards turn

PM insists he will not walk away as Burnham promises to change Labour

Starmer has repeated his insistence that he will "not walk away" from the job of prime minister despite more than a week of turbulence in his party, which saw five of his ministers resign

Streeting says he would join leadership race as Burnham vows to 'save' Labour

Starmer as leader should he be selected as the party's candidate in the by-election and win - said the vote must be a moment to "reclaim the Labour party, to save it from where

Labour leadership jostling puts Brexit back under political spotlight

Keir Starmer, Labour have trod warily around the issue of Brexit, sticking to "red lines" that, while seeking a closer relationship with the EU, the UK would not be rejoining either the EU's single

I have a duty to stay on, says Starmer, as he justifies defence spending decisions

Starmer has told the BBC he has a "duty" to stay on as prime minister as he sought to justify his decisions on defence spending. Speaking the day after [two of his defence ministers quit

The potential challengers to Keir Starmer

future. However, there is not a consensus among Labour MPs about who they want to replace Sir Keir Starmer as leader of the Labour party and of the country. And on Tuesday, the prime minister

Labour has 'no coherent plan' for country, says Blair

Starmer's government of having no "coherent plan" for the country and introducing policies that have held back business. In a highly critical essay, the former Labour PM singled out measures including new workers' rights

Cabinet split as Mahmood calls on Starmer to set out timetable to go

Starmer to set out a timetable for his resignation, leading to splits at the top of government. It is understood Mahmood is in the minority in the cabinet over whether Sir Keir should