It was standing room only in the hall where I watched the course of Britain’s – and Keir Starmer’s – future change. Nearly 45,000 people cast their vote in Makerfield on Thursday, making a decision that will shape not only what happens to the constituency but also the direction of the country.
A raucous round of applause broke out when a beaming Andy Burnham first arrived at the count in Wigan. That crescendoed into rapturous cheers when the beaming Greater Manchester Mayor was declared winner of the crunch contest about an hour later.
The result, one of the most consequential by-election outcomes in modern political history, was celebrated by supporters who clearly sensed they were on the frontline of history. At around 3.07am on Friday morning, the King of the North made a giant leap in becoming the King of Labour.
His victory, which could end the tenure of Sir Keir’s premiership, came less than two years after the PM’s landslide general election victory in July 2024. As dawn approached, attention quickly began shifting from Wigan to Westminster, where politicians and strategists have been calculating what the result means.
Makerfield had always been a gamble for Burnham – a real test of whether Labour’s would-be saviour could translate personal popularity into votes. But with nearly 25,000 ballots cast for him – significantly ahead of Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon on just over 15,500 votes – it appears Mr Burnham can indeed take on Nigel Farage’s party and win.
Throughout the evening, there were hints that things were going well for the Labour candidate’s campaign. Shortly after midnight, positive murmurings began filtering out of the party’s camp. As the count continued through the night, a cast of characters provided some levity to the awaiting press pack. Count Binface appeared to make his pitch to the assembled media, followed by a candidate from the Monster Raving Loony Party and a man dressed in a fox costume, each eager to seize their moment in front of the cameras.
By the time the result was declared, the lenses were firmly focused on one man only. Mr Burnham rushed out of the count with his wife and daughter on his arm, supposedly to grab a celebratory pint, minutes after being crowned an MP for the second time.
As the sun rose over the UK on Friday, one thing was certain – it was the dawn of a new era. And what happens in Makerfield won’t stay in Makerfield.
