MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Hot political summer ahead for Britain, Burnham MP intends to challenge PM Starmer

Labor’s former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham won with a clear majority in a special election to the British parliament

Andy Burnham, Labor’s former Greater Manchester mayor has won with a clear majority in a special election to the British parliament, and is ready to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the party leadership saying he wants “to lay out a new path for Britain“ and Labour needs to ”make life affordable” again.

Burnham defeated the Reform U.K. party candidate by more than 9,000 votes, taking nearly 55% of the vote, in the election in Makerfield, in north-west England.

A prominent figure on the party’s left often identified as a Labor’s “King in the North,” Burnham said in his victory speech that Makerfield was “not a stepping stone” but a “touchstone,” promising to put neglected communities at the center of his politics.

In his victory acceptance speech, Burnham anticipated the groundwork for a leadership bid. As a member of Parliament he can now trigger a leadership challenge to Starmer, as soon he is formally sworn in as an MP, but will also require the support of at least 81 Labour lawmakers.

Burnham added the win provides the “chance to build a new politics, based on unity and hope”, and an opportunity to turn “away from the path that takes us to a divided, dark politics of the kind we see in the United States,” emphasizing “we must put the country back on the right path.”

While Burnham’s victory had largely been expected, it raises several immediate questions for markets, said Kallum Pickering, chief economist at Peel Hunt.

Crucially, markets will be watching whether a Burnham government would stick to Labor’s existing fiscal rules and if his policy agenda risks adding to inflationary pressures.

The yield on 10-year Gilts, the benchmark for U.K. government borrowing, jumped more than 8 basis points on Friday to 4.8394%. Yields on 2-year and 30-year Gilts also moved higher.

Meantime PM Starmer called on Labor to “pull together” and warned against “turning on each other and tearing apart our party and our movement”.

Following the election result, some analysts pointed out that while Burnham's allies hope the prime minister may yet be persuaded to stand down, Starmer has shown no signs of going anywhere.