Good morning if you are just joining the blog. Andy Burnham was expected to win the Makerfield byelection, but he’s won big – by a huge margin. Here is Josh Halliday’s story.
Andy Burnham Wins Huge Majority in Makerfield Byelection, Paving Way for Starmer Leadership Challenge
Read more: Here are the full figures from the count. Today the attention will focus on what happens next.
Keir Starmer has posted a short message on social media congratulating Burnham, but it is very much a holding statement. As Pippa Crerar reported in her comprehensive overview 36 hours ago, Starmer has been wanting to fight to keep his job. But the scale of Burnham’s victory changes the balance of power between the two men, and the Burnham camp is now openly saying (albeit politely) that it wants Starmer to accept a timetable for a handover to the new Makerfield mayor.
The Home Office minister Mike Tapp was the main Labour voice making the counter, Starmer-loyalist argument in broadcast studios overnight. He claimed letting Burnham take over would trigger “credible calls for a general election” – which no Labour MP wants – ignoring the fact that, when Labour called for an election after Liz Truss replaced Boris Johnson, and after Rishi Sunak replaced Truss, the Conservative government found it very easy to take no notice of said “credible calls”.
The mainstream commentariat view seems to be that it’s when, not if, Starmer concedes, and agrees a timetable for his departure. But the Burnham team have not said yet what handover date they want (Burnham probably wants by Labour conference in September; Starmer would probably prefer by next summer) and there is no confirmation yet that Starmer will comply. He has the right to insist on a formal leadership election, and this remains a possibility.
It was a bad night for Reform UK. But the Conservatives had a very good result in Scotland. Severin Carrell has the story here.
Scottish Conservatives Win Aberdeen South, Ousting SNP
Read more: Updated at 16.04 AEST
