Labour's Andy Burnham wins a special election, setting up a showdown with Starmer to lead Britain

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: Politics Labour's Andy Burnham wins a special election, setting up a showdown with Starmer to lead Britain June 19, 20263:48 AM ET By The Associated Press Andy Burnham, Britain's Labour candidate for Makerfield, gestures in front of supporters during the by-election in Makerfield, England, Thursday, June 18, 2026 where voters are choosing a new lawmaker with Andy Burnham of the Labour Party as the leading contender. Jon Super/AP hide caption toggle caption Jon Super/AP LONDON — Labour's Andy Burnham, the current mayor of Greater Manchester, has won a special election for a seat in Parliament that puts him in a position to challenge embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer for leadership of the country. Burnham decisively won the seat of Makerfield in northwest England over Rob Kenyon of the anti-immigration party Reform UK.

The victory announced early Friday cements the status of Burnham, a 56-year-old politician nicknamed the King of the North, as the top contender to replace Starmer as leader of the Labour Party and the country. Burnham won almost 55% of the 45,510 votes counted, over 9,000 more than Kenyon. Sponsor Message Burnham's victory speech left no doubt that he wants to lead the country, and not just be one of the more than 400 Labour lawmakers in the 650-seat House of Commons.

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"Everyone knows that politics isn't working," he said. "Everyone can feel that the country isn't where it should be. Tonight could, just could, be the turning point.

" Starmer, who has previously maintained he will fight any leadership challenge, took to social media to congratulate Burnham. "Voters chose Labour's campaign of hope and optimism over division and hate," the prime minister wrote on X. Burnham has led Manchester since 2017, overseeing rapid regeneration for the city where the Industrial Revolution was forged.

He is pledging to repeat his signature brand of "Manchesterism" on a national scale. Burnham said he would work to ensure that "the name Makerfield is forever synonymous with bringing about the change this country needs. " He said Labour had "a final chance to change" and win back voters' trust.

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"But it is a chance now, from this result tonight, to build a new politics based on unity and hope, turning away from the path that takes us to a divided, dark politics of the kind we see in the United States," he said. Sponsor Message Labour is in power but unpopular Starmer's popularity has cratered since he led the center-left Labour Party to a landslide election victory in July 2024. He has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living, and been hamstrung by repeated missteps, including his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as the U.

ambassador to the United States. Labour is losing liberal voters to the growing Green Party, and facing a rising Reform UK, which consistently leads in nationwide opinion polls.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.