Posted on 05/17/2026 6:04:44 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
Andy Burnham faces a perilous race to win the Makerfield seat, his allies have said, as he gears up to fight a byelection that could decide the long-term future of Labour and the country.
The Greater Manchester mayor is likely to be confirmed as Labour’s candidate for the north-west constituency later this week, but those close to him say he faces an uphill battle to beat Reform UK. Nigel Farage’s party won more than 50% of the vote at the local elections and polling suggests Burnham is only marginally ahead.
Reform is likely to focus heavily on immigration and Brexit over the next few weeks as it looks to exploit an escalating Labour row over whether the UK should seek to rejoin the EU.
The outcome of the byelection is likely to determine not only the immediate political future of Keir Starmer, whom Burnham has pledged to challenge if elected, but also the viability of the Labour party as a whole.
The prime minister spent the weekend at Chequers considering his political future, and allies say that despite his public defiance he is now willing to stand aside should Burnham win a clear mandate in Makerfield and no other challenger emerges.
If he loses the byelection, it will leave Starmer in office but badly wounded by weeks of damaging attacks from his own MPs and without an obvious successor. One ally said: “It’s impossible to underscore how perilous this is. I would give Andy a 45% chance of winning, maybe a bit more than that.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
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The Guardian is concerned.
And that’s a good thing
65% of this area voted for Brexit - Burnham has advocated for having the UK formally rejoin the EU.
🔴 Andy Burnham has distanced himself from calls to rejoin the European Union following a backlash that threatens to derail his by-election campaign.
🔗 https://t.co/4FKqPzyPPV pic.twitter.com/4xuBEmLn3y— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) May 17, 2026
He just said it unequivocally Back in late September 2025 - hardly ancient history, even politically: https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/andy-burnham-rejoin-eu-brexit-disaster-398580/
He’ll probably lose. Wrong time to run especially since Labour is so unpopular.
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