Senior London MP Wes Streeting hit the campaign trail on Monday to support Andy Burnham in the Makerfield by-election. Mr Streeting, who recently resigned as Health Secretary with strong criticism of Sir Keir Starmer’s government, was in the North West ahead of the by-election on Thursday June 18.
Ilford North MP Mr Streeting posted on X: “The team in Makerfield have run a first class campaign with @andy4makerfield. It was great to join them for the start of polling week!”
Greater Manchester Mayor Mr Burnham is the favourite to win the seat, according to polls. In a sign that Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon may be trailing in second place by a growing margin, party leader Nigel Farage escalated his rhetoric, claiming a “two-tier state against white people” in Britain. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, MP for Wigan, condemned his comments, urging Mr Farage to “take his nasty hate and anger and division somewhere else”.
Cabinet ministers, Labour MPs, and activists have flocked to Makerfield to campaign for Mr Burnham, despite his clear ambition to replace Sir Keir in Downing Street. In a twist of political complexity, Mr Streeting is backing the Greater Manchester Mayor even though they could soon compete in a leadership contest.
Westminster Buzz
Westminster is abuzz with speculation about what will happen if Mr Burnham wins the by-election and returns to the Commons, having previously served as Health Secretary and Culture Secretary. There is growing talk that he will quickly move to replace Sir Keir as Prime Minister.
Mr Burnham has not yet made his intentions clear and could take his time before seeking to gain the keys to No10. However, mounting speculation suggests a groundswell of support among Labour MPs for Mr Burnham if he returns to Parliament, giving him momentum to press ahead with his aim to deliver change.
Many Labour MPs believe there should be a contest for the leadership, rather than a “coronation”, even if Mr Burnham, dubbed the “King of the North”, gains huge backing.
Resignations Fuel Speculation
The resignations of John Healey as Defence Secretary and Al Carns as Armed Forces Minister last week are reported to have increased the likelihood of an early move against the PM. Possible contenders in a leadership contest, including Mr Streeting and Mr Carns, have seemingly started jockeying for position, signalling their intention to run.
But Sir Keir has vowed to fight any attempts to oust him, stressing that he has a mandate from the 2024 election for his blueprint for the country. “I don’t think we should have a challenge, because I think it’ll throw the country into chaos,” he told ITV’s This Morning. “If there is a challenge, I will fight. I’m not going to walk away from this. We won a landslide victory just two years ago with a clear mandate to change the country, that’s a five-year mandate.”
Pressure on Starmer
Sir Keir’s premiership has been under pressure since Labour’s disastrous May local election results, including in London, and setbacks in Wales and Scotland. Mr Burnham would need the backing of 81 Labour MPs to mount a leadership challenge.
He said he had been “honest” with voters that “my own side’s not good enough” and is vowing to deliver “change”. Just days before the vote on Thursday, he said: “I kind of feel as we go into the final stretch that the voters of this constituency could be about to write a new script for British politics, and how good is that? Change the story. It’s becoming more and more divided, isn’t it? And we can see what’s happening. We don’t want to end up like the United States of America, where people don’t talk to each other in the street if they vote different ways.”
By-Election Dynamics
The Makerfield by-election is widely expected to be a two-horse race between Mr Burnham and Reform UK candidate Robert Kenyon. The contest was triggered by former minister Josh Simons quitting to open a path for Mr Burnham’s return to the Commons. Mr Simons won Makerfield in 2024 by just 5,399 votes, while Reform comfortably won every ward in the constituency in May’s local elections.
