Makerfield by-election: Voters go to polls in crunch vote for Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham leadership challenge

Polls opened on Thursday (June 18) in a by-election that could see the UK elect a new prime minister. Voters are heading to the polls in Makerfield to elect a new MP - with Labour candidate Andy Burnham touted as a potential successor to PM Sir Keir Starmer, if he wins.

The by-election comes after Starmer said on Wednesday he was willing to offer Burnham - the Mayor of Greater Manchester - a “big” job in his Government, should he be successful. But allies of the mayor said he was not interested in the offer, insisting “the benefit Andy has is the wind of change for not having been associated with the Government’s failings”.

Burnham and his allies are reported to be hoping for a “coronation” in which Sir Keir stands aside, rather than a leadership contest, which they believe would be damaging to the Labour Party’s brand, according to the Times. But the Prime Minister has repeatedly made it clear he has no intention of standing down and says that he will fight any challenge to his leadership.

And according to the Guardian, several Cabinet ministers have had to be talked out of resigning early by the Burnham camp to prevent the Government descending into chaos ahead of the by-election. Burnham supporters within the Government had intended to quit early to pressure the Prime Minister into making way for his rival, the newspaper said.

Wes Streeting, the former health secretary who resigned to launch a prospective Labour leadership bid, is said to have met Burnham while campaigning in Makerfield on Monday, the Guardian also reported. A source told the newspaper “no deals were done” as a result of the meeting.

The Prime Minister, meanwhile, said he plans to call Mr Burnham “after the weekend”. But he may face swift pressure to accept a leadership contest or stand down, as Mr Streeting has indicated he would be willing to trigger the race.

Speaking in his final campaign event on Wednesday evening, Burnham said “change is coming” to Westminster as a result of the by-election. “This is a chance to vote for change, for change in politics, for change in our economy, to vote for people, to make life better for people,” he said, adding: “It is a vote for Makerfield. It is a vote for hope.”

Burnham’s nearest competitor in Makerfield is Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, which polls have suggested is losing voters to Restore Britain, a party to its right with a more hard-line approach to migration and other issues.

In his final message to voters, Burnham urged them not to back Reform’s candidate Robert Kenyon, as he claimed the party’s victory could lead to a “darker and more divided politics”.

“There is a path that carries on and makes Britain look more and more like the United States of America, and we do not, in my view, want to end up there, where people can’t talk to each other in the street," he told supporters. “That’s not the Britain I know, and the Britain that I love, and that’s not the path that we should be taking."

Makerfield is one of three parliamentary by-elections taking place on today, with the other two in the Scottish seats of Aberdeen South, and Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, where SNP MPs Stephen Gethins and Stephen Flynn have stood down after winning elections to the Scottish Parliament in May.