By Satyaki Chakraborty
Greater Manchester Mayor Labour Party candidate Andy Burnham’s convincing victory in the crucial Makerfield by election on Thursday has landed the ruling Labour Party in a deep crisis. The winning candidate has thrown his challenge to the leader Prime Minister Keir Starmer who is under fire from his own Parliament members for his failure in running the government leading to the dip in popularity rating of the PM and the Party.
Even before the by election, the rebel Labour MPs said that if Burnham wins with big margin at this time of low acceptability of the Labour Party, he would vindicate his acceptability as the new leader of the crisis ridden Labour Party. Burnham won by getting 54 per cent votes defeating the resurgent Reform UK party and the hardline Restore Britain party. For Burnham supporters, this was the time for the British Prime Minister Starmer to recognize the reality of the political situation and be ready for contest.
In his victory speech on Thursday night after the poll results were out, Burnham said the result “could be a turning point” and that people had “voted for change, they have voted for more power for the north and everywhere forgotten by Westminster”.
He said this was Labour’s “final chance to change”, adding: “There will be no second chance, 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 politics of the kind we see in the United States. “We must now take this up and put this country back on the right path and bring people back together and get things working properly.”
Burnham’s supporters in the Labour Party are not prepared to act in a hurry. Political sources mention that the pro-changers will assess the situation in the Parliamentary Party and then put pressure on the PM for agreeing to be ready for change over. One suggestion is that Starmer should be allowed to choose his time within a short period if he agrees to step down from leadership.
The fact that Burnham secured 6,100 more votes than both Reform and Restore combined will hugely burnish his credentials for No 10 among Labour MPs and members. Starmer congratulated Burnham on his win, saying: “Voters chose Labour’s campaign of hope and optimism over division and hate”.
Observers point out that the former Health Secretary not only retained the votes of the Labour, he also got some votes from the Conservative support base. This means that Burnham has wider acceptability as a Labour leader which is crucial for the Labour Party in view of big switch over of Labour supporters to the Reform UK shown in earlier local elections.
Burnham is known as the King of the North. He was first elected to parliament almost 25 years ago and served in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown,. He will return to Westminster nine years after he left.
His win means Labour faces another gruelling contest against Reform UK, this time to retain the Greater Manchester mayoralty. The byelection of 2 million voters will be one of the biggest in British political history, and is expected to be held on 30 July.
The Makerfield byelection was triggered when Josh Simons, the then Labour MP, agreed to stand down last month to allow Burnham to contest the seat and mount a challenge to Starmer’s ailing leadership. The prime minister has faced calls for his resignation over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK ambassador to the US, followed by elections in which Labour lost more than 1,200 local councillors and control of the Welsh Senedd in May.
Starmer is giving no signs of buckling under pressure. He told his supporters in the Parliament that he would complete his full term and things in Britain will improve. He said he will not walk away from his post and that he intends to fight any challenge. The prime minister is also facing a threat from his former health secretary Wes Streeting, who has indicated he is prepared to trigger a Labour leadership contest as early as next week.
Among the possible contenders for the leadership, Burnham is the strongest, according to political observers. Lots of inner party discussions have started in the Labour Party to find out a solution to the crisis. Burnham is expected to have detailed discussions with the PM Starmer. The Labour Party members in general are excited after Burnham win. They are looking for change but that should be smooth without damaging the party. (IPA Service)
