Labour's Andy Burnham will return to Westminster after a seismic victory in the Makerfield by-election. The now former Mayor of Greater Manchester was declared the winner after beating Reform's Robert Kenyon.
The by-election was called back in May following the sudden resignation of Labour MP Josh Simons. The former Labour representative for Makerfield stood down from the position to make a pathway for Mr Burnham to stand for election.
The newly elected MP is now expected to launch a leadership bid to replace current Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, although there is no indication yet when this could happen.
Ahead of the by-election, Mr Burnham urged people to 'vote to change politics' and vowed to take the 'fight as high as I can possibly take it'. On Wednesday, Sir Keir said he was willing to offer Mr Burnham a 'big' job in his government should he win the election, however a source told the Manchester Evening News he was not interested.
Mr Burnham and his allies are reported to be hoping for a 'coronation' in which Sir Keir stands aside, rather than a leadership contest. However, the current Prime Minister has made it clear he has no intention to stand down from the top job.
Results for the Makerfield by-election were declared in the early hours of Friday morning. In total, Mr Burnham received 24,927 votes, while Reform's Robert Kenyon got 15,696 votes. It means Mr Burnham won by 9,231 votes. Meanwhile, Rebecca Shepherd from Restore received 3,111 votes.
