Andy Burnham is heavily odds-on to become the next leader of the Labour party following his victory in the Makerfield by-election.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester has now paved a way to challenge prime minister Kier Starmer for the leadership of the party, winning the Makerfield contest with 54.8% of the vote.
Labour defeated the candidate for Nigel Farage's Reform UK who obtained 34.5% of the vote.
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Whilst Burnham's success was widely anticipated, the scale of his triumph signifies that there is a huge amount of momentum behind his campaign. Not only did he retain all of the share of vote that Labour won in the seat during the 2024 general election, he managed to increase his party's share by 10 points.
At a time where Labour's popularity is at an extremely low ebb, Burnham's triumph differs wildly from the results of national polling.
"Everyone knows that politics isn't working, everyone can feel that the country isn't where it should be," Burnham said following his election victory.
"Tonight could, just could, be the turning point. This is a final chance to change."
Both Burnham and former health secretary Wes Streeting have stated that they would stand against Starmer in any leadership contest, with Streeting suggesting that he would be prepared to trigger a contest to replace him as early as next week.
No challenge to Starmer has been made yet, however. Any contender would need the support of 81 Labour MPs to trigger a contest.
