Labour mayor Andy Burnham cleared a path to ousting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer after winning a parliamentary seat in northern England on Friday in what could be most consequential local election in more than six decades.
Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor nicknamed the "King of the North", won the contest in Makerfield in northwest England with 24,927 votes, while the candidate for Nigel Farage's populist Reform UK party came second with 15,696 votes.
His victory means he will now be able to trigger or take part in a contest to replace Starmer, struggling with some of the worst popularity ratings of any leader. But the key question is when and how Burnham will do it.
In his victory speech, Burnham said the result could be a "turning point" for British politics and told his party that this was a final chance to change direction.
"We must hear it, we must act upon it, and we must get it right," he said. "There will be no second chance."
Polls show Burnham, 56, is Labour's most popular politician who would win a leadership contest decided by party members, while some Labour lawmakers hope Starmer could be persuaded to hand over power to avoid a damaging contest.
Two years after winning a landslide national election, Starmer, 63, is one of the least popular British prime ministers since polling records began after scandals, policy U-turns, and accusations of indecision have derailed the delivery of the change he once promised.
About a quarter of Starmer's lawmakers have called for him to quit since his party suffered heavy losses in local elections last month, while senior colleagues, including the defence and health minister, resigned in recent weeks over his leadership.
A defiant Starmer said this week he would stand in any leadership contest and issued a warning to his party about the potential "chaos" of a potentially bitter and divisive leadership election.
But one Labour member of parliament, who stayed up to watch the election result in the early hours of Friday, said the scale of Burnham's victory means Starmer's departure is inevitable, the only doubt is over the timing and how he will leave office.
There was no immediate comment from Starmer's office.
Another of Starmer's main rivals, former health minister Wes Streeting, said this week he would force a contest soon unless the prime minister announced when he would stand down.
Burnham has said he will stand in any leadership contest.
Under Labour rules, it would take 20% of the parliamentary party, or 81 lawmakers, to announce they were backing a single candidate to trigger a leadership challenge.
If Starmer is ousted, Britain will be on its seventh prime minister in about a decade, the highest turnover in nearly two centuries, as voters punish leaders who failed to improve living standards, public services and tackle illegal immigration.
During a month-long campaign, Burnham has acted like a prime minister-in-waiting explaining policies for a potential future government.
Burnham has repeatedly tried to reassure nervous investors by insisting he would stick to the government's fiscal rules and not put up any of the main taxes.
This was after he said last year Britain was "in hock" to the bond markets, comments interpreted as meaning he would increase government borrowing. He has since said those comments were misrepresented.
The pound showed little reaction to Burnham's victory, which had been widely expected by investors.
After his victory speech, Burnham told journalists his first act as a newly-elected member of parliament would be to go for a pint of beer.
U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and officials from m...
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said regional issues should be res...
The U.S. and five Central Asian nations have held high-level talks in Samarkand, focusing on trade, investment and regional security as Washington ...
U.S. President Donald Trump has criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for continuing to target Russia's energy infrastructure, while Russian strikes on Kyiv overnight killed at least one person and damaged a metro station.
What started out as planned protests against the cost of living, declining public services and education funding in France, quickly devolved into violent riots across the country on Saturday.
The day after waiving sanctions and tariffs related to Russian exports, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he has yet to announce a final decision on the matter as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said officials want more time to evaluate the situation.
A Saudi AH-6i helicopter crashed in the Najran region of Saudi Arabia due to a technical malfunction, killing its two crew members, the Saudi-led coalition's spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki said in a statement on Sunday.
French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the violence, looting and vandalism that erupted during cost-of-living protests across France. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu held crisis talks on Monday, calling for partial curfews and raising the possibility of a state of emergency.
U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and officials from major European nations and NATO in Norway this week for talks about ending the war in Ukraine. He is also set to travel to Russia to speak to Vladimir Putin.
The U.S. and five Central Asian nations have held high-level talks in Samarkand, focusing on trade, investment and regional security as Washington seeks to strengthen its presence in the strategically important region.
French authorities imposed local curfews in parts of Paris, Lille and Nice on Monday after a weekend of riots and looting linked to nationwide anti-government protests, as the government faced mounting criticism over security failures.
Torrential rain and flooding in eastern Spain have killed at least four people, forced thousands to evacuate and left tens of thousands of residents under shelter-in-place orders, as emergency crews rescued people stranded on rooftops.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest level across both of his presidential terms, while Democrats have widened their lead over Republicans ahead of the 3 November congressional elections, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment