{"id":3374,"date":"2026-06-18T12:04:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T12:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3374"},"modified":"2026-06-18T12:04:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T12:04:18","slug":"a-special-election-in-the-uk-could-hasten-the-rise-of-andy-burnham-and-the-end-for-keir-starmer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3374","title":{"rendered":"A special election in the UK could hasten the rise of Andy Burnham and the end for Keir Starmer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

LONDON (AP) \u2014 Keir Starmer isn\u2019t on the ballot, but the U.K. prime minister\u2019s future is on the line in a special election on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Read more Two sides of a political chasm share one fear in Colombia\u2019s presidential race: A return to the past<\/a><\/p>\n

Voters in the Makerfield district of northwest England are electing a new lawmaker, and the leading contender is Andy Burnham of the governing Labour Party, the current mayor of Greater Manchester and oddsmakers\u2019 favorite to be the next prime minister.<\/p>\n

If Burnham defeats a candidate from the anti-immigration party Reform UK and wins the seat for Labour, he\u2019s almost certain to challenge the embattled Starmer for leadership of the party, and the country.<\/p>\n

Burnham has pledged that \u201cif people put their trust in me, I will change politics\u201d \u2014 a big promise for a politician who, if he wins, will be just one of 650 lawmakers in the House of Commons. <\/p>\n

But the scores of journalists from around the world who have flocked to Makerfield during the campaign are evidence that this is no normal by-election.<\/p>\n

In an election-day video, Burnham said he would take the fight for change \u201cas high as I can possibly take it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polls close at 10 p.m. (2100GMT), with results due early Friday.<\/p>\n

Starmer struggles since landslide win<\/h3>\n

About 75,000 people are eligible to vote in Makerfield, a constituency that encompasses several towns and villages on the edge of Greater Manchester, 200 miles (320 kilometers) northwest of London.<\/p>\n

They hold in their hands the fate of Starmer, whose popularity has cratered since he led the center-left Labour Party to a landslide election victory in July 2024.<\/p>\n

Starmer\u2019s government 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.K. ambassador to the United States.<\/p>\n

A dismal performance in May\u2019s local elections spurred scores of Labour lawmakers to demand Starmer\u2019s resignation. He has refused to budge, but senior colleagues are trying to force a change. Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary in May, saying that \u201cwhere we need vision, we have a vacuum.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then Josh Simons, the Labour lawmaker for Makerfield, stepped down to trigger a special election and give Burnham the chance to return to Parliament.<\/p>\n

Britain\u2019s parliamentary system allows governing parties to change leader midterm, with the winner becoming prime minister without the need for a national election. Under Labour rules, a lawmaker can challenge the leader if they have backing from a fifth of the party\u2019s House of Commons lawmakers \u2014 a number that stands at 81.<\/p>\n

Streeting said Tuesday that he hopes Starmer will agree to step down, but that if he doesn\u2019t, \u201cthere will need to be a contest, and I would be prepared to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Burnham victory will pile pressure on Starmer to quit<\/h3>\n

Streeting is an assured communicator with a base of support among parliamentary colleagues, but Burnham is considered the more likely successor.<\/p>\n

Read more Caniac spirit soars: Downtown Raleigh businesses buzz with energy ahead of Canes celebration parade<\/a><\/p>\n

The 56-year-old politician nicknamed the \u201cKing of the North\u201d has led Manchester since 2017, overseeing rapid regeneration for the city where the Industrial Revolution was forged. Burnham is pledging to repeat his signature brand of \u201cManchesterism\u201d on a national scale.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not right, the way the country has been run,\u201d Burnham said on the campaign trail last week, claiming \u201cLondon-centric politics\u201d has failed other regions of the U.K.<\/p>\n

Starmer, meanwhile, has tried to keep calm and carry on, insisting during a G7 summit in France this week that he has no intention of leaving his post.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will fight if there\u2019s a challenge,\u201d he said. \u201cWe won a significant general election result in 2024, with a mandate to bring about change. I\u2019m not going to walk away from that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starmer suggested that he could offer Burnham a Cabinet post if he wins, telling Sky News on Wednesday that \u201cI want him to have a big role in government.\u201d Allies of Burnham indicated that he wasn\u2019t interested.<\/p>\n

Rob Ford, professor of political science at the University of Manchester, said that if Burnham wins convincingly, \u201cthe pressure on Starmer will be very hard to resist.<\/p>\n

\u201cStarmer can say all that he likes that he wants to carry on,\u201d Ford said. \u201cBut if the entire Cabinet turns around and says, \u2018We\u2019re not going to serve under you and we think you should go,\u2019 then either he\u2019ll go with dignity or go without dignity, but he\u2019ll end up having to go quite quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reform UK poses a challenge to Labour<\/h3>\n

Burnham\u2019s victory isn\u2019t a given. The Makerfield area has elected Labour lawmakers for more than a century, but Reform UK has rapidly gained ground in post-industrial northern England, winning big in local elections last month.<\/p>\n

Reform candidate Rob Kenyon, a local plumber, is hoping to tap into concerns about immigration \u2014 frequently expressed by voters despite relatively low numbers of immigrants in Makerfield. But Reform faces a challenge from Restore, an even more hard-line, anti-immigration and ethnonationalist party to its right.<\/p>\n

A Burnham victory would be bad news for Starmer. But Ford said that a Reform win in Makerfield would spell \u201cGotterdammerung, apocalypse, disaster, chaos\u201d for the Labour Party.<\/p>\n

\u201cAndy Burnham is miles more popular than every other (leadership) candidate available. Miles better known, miles better liked,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf Reform take him out, then simultaneously you have a situation where the Reform threat looks much graver, and the best person available to combat the Reform threat has failed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Gunmen attack airport in Niger\u2019s capital as explosions, gunfire heard<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LONDON (AP) \u2014 Keir Starmer isn\u2019t on the ballot, but the U.K. prime minister\u2019s future…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nA special election in the UK could hasten the rise of Andy Burnham and the end for Keir Starmer - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3374\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A special election in the UK could hasten the rise of Andy Burnham and the end for Keir Starmer - Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LONDON (AP) \u2014 Keir Starmer isn\u2019t on the ballot, but the U.K. prime minister\u2019s future...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3374\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-18T12:04:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3374#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3374\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"headline\":\"A special election in the UK could hasten the rise of Andy Burnham and the end for Keir Starmer\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T12:04:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3374\"},\"wordCount\":983,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3374#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/dd002789686d89149a72e55f50996140.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3374#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3374\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3374\",\"name\":\"A special election in the UK could hasten the rise of Andy Burnham and the end for Keir Starmer - Raleigh Moving News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3374#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3374#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/dd002789686d89149a72e55f50996140.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T12:04:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3374#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3374\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3374#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/dd002789686d89149a72e55f50996140.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/dd002789686d89149a72e55f50996140.webp\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":853},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3374#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A special election in the UK could hasten the rise of Andy Burnham and the end for Keir Starmer\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Raleigh Moving News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A special election in the UK could hasten the rise of Andy Burnham and the end for Keir Starmer - Raleigh Moving News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3374","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A special election in the UK could hasten the rise of Andy Burnham and the end for Keir Starmer - Raleigh Moving News","og_description":"LONDON (AP) \u2014 Keir Starmer isn\u2019t on the ballot, but the U.K. prime minister\u2019s future...","og_url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3374","og_site_name":"Raleigh Moving News","article_published_time":"2026-06-18T12:04:18+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3374#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3374"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60"},"headline":"A special election in the UK could hasten the rise of Andy Burnham and the end for Keir Starmer","datePublished":"2026-06-18T12:04:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3374"},"wordCount":983,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3374#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dd002789686d89149a72e55f50996140.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3374#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3374","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3374","name":"A special election in the UK could hasten the rise of Andy Burnham and the end for Keir Starmer - Raleigh Moving News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3374#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3374#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dd002789686d89149a72e55f50996140.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-18T12:04:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3374#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3374"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3374#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dd002789686d89149a72e55f50996140.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dd002789686d89149a72e55f50996140.webp","width":1280,"height":853},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3374#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A special election in the UK could hasten the rise of Andy Burnham and the end for Keir Starmer"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/","name":"Raleigh Moving News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}