Labour’s Andy Burnham’s special election win could spell doom for Starmer as prime minister

Factual coreconfirmed by several independent voices

• Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham won a special election in the United Kingdom on Thursday.

  reliability moderate2/2 sources

• The Labour Party candidate defeated Rob Kenyon of the Reform U.K. party to return to Parliament in the seat for Makerfield, a small area in Greater Manchester county in northwest England.

  reliability moderate2/2 sources

Reported detailssecondary facts, each attributed to its source

• 2) Tories show proof of life and even momentum in battle for the right with… — Luke Tryl (@LukeTryl) June 19, 2026 Reform’s defeat comes just four months after the party lost the Gorton and Denton by-election to the Greens.

  according to HuffPost UK

• 20 point Labour win in a seat that was one of their best second places in 2024. “Tories show proof of life and even momentum in battle for the right with Aberdeen South win. “Restore Britain take 7% [in makerfield].

  according to HuffPost UK

• 20pt Labour win in a seat that was one of their best second places in 2024.

  according to HuffPost UK

• Even more worryingly for Reform leader Nigel Farage , Restore Britain came third after securing more than 3,000 votes on a right-wing, anti-immigration policy platform.

  according to HuffPost UK

• Reform candidate Robert Kenyon came second, more than 9,000 votes behind Burnham.

  according to HuffPost UK

• In addition, the Conservatives received a major boost by winning Aberdeen South from the SNP.

  according to HuffPost UK

• In a post on X, Tryl said: “Think this is unarguably Reform’s worst night since General Election. “Barely any increase in their vote share in Makerfield.

  according to HuffPost UK

• 1) Barely any increase in their vote share in Makerfield.

  according to HuffPost UK

• Tory frontbencher James Cleverly said: “When people see what Reform is like in office, they change their minds about Reform.” Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy.

  according to HuffPost UK

• Luke Tryl of More in Common said the party’s path to power could now become “very, very hard”.

  according to HuffPost UK

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• He received 24,927 votes to Kenyon’s 15,696, earning 54.8% […]

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• Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham won a special election in the United Kingdom on Thursday.

  omitted byLeft sideRight sidecovered byRight side

• The Labour Party candidate defeated Rob Kenyon of the Reform U.K. party to return to Parliament in the seat for Makerfield, a small area in…

  omitted byLeft sideRight sidecovered byRight side

Sources4 sources cross-checked

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