The contest for the UK parliamentary seat of Makerfield in northwest England has been won by the outgoing Mayor of Greater Manchester, Labour’s Andy Burnham, it was announced on Friday, June 19th.

Burnham secured 24,927 votes (54.8%), beating Reform UK’s 15,696 (34.5%). Rupert Lowe’s start-up/spoiler party Restore UK finished in third place on 3,111 (6.8%). Labour’s vote share was more than that of all the other candidates combined.  

The by-election was unusual in that it was caused by the previous incumbent, Josh Simons, standing aside to make way for Burnham.

The key issue appears to be Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s national unpopularity, with voters seeking an alternative. In recent months, attendees at everything from professional darts matches to concerts by light-hearted pop veterans Madness have been overheard chanting “Starmer is a w*nker” (to the tune of “Do the Conga”). Reportedly, football World Cup organisers FIFA prepared for England’s opening match in the competition by warning fans to mind their language.

This visceral public dislike of Starmer pushed many Reform voters in Makerfield to back Burnham, according to deputy leader Richard Tice. With his seat in parliament secure, the ‘king in the North’ now looks set to join the other declared Labour leadership candidate Wes Streeting in seeking to trigger a leadership contest.

Two other by-elections took place in Scotland on the same day.

Aberdeen South was won by Douglas Lumsden (Conservative), while Arbroath and Broughty Ferry went to Lara Bird (Scottish National Party).