Starmer says he won’t step down after potential challenger wins Westminster seat

The U.K.’s Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has said he would not leave his position as his grip on No. 10 Downing Street weakened significantly on Friday (June 19, 2026) morning as outgoing Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham — his strongest challenger — comfortably won the Makerfield bye-election, bringing him back to Parliament.

Mr. Burnham, a former Minister in Gordon Brown’s government, said it was the “final chance” for Labour to change, as he addressed supporters following the results.

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The former Mayor, who is seen as a charismatic leader, stands left of Mr. Starmer in the Labour political spectrum. He won 55% or  24,927 votes, with the nativist party Reform UK winning 34.5% of the vote. The party has eaten into Labour’s vote and almost fully displaced the Conservatives, who won 2.2%. This has especially been true in places like Makerfield, a mostly suburban, white constituency in the North West of England with industrial roots. However, Reform itself has a challenger from its right – Restore, which won 6.8% of the vote.

Mr. Burnham acknowledged supporters of the parties on the left as well as the right who may have voted for him.

“It is a chance now… to build a new politics based on unity and hope, turning away from the path that takes us to a divided, dark politics of the kind we see in the United States,” he said on Friday (June 19, 2026).

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The Prime Minister has said he will fight any contest to oust him from 10 Downing Street.

“I’ve ​said ⁠repeatedly I’m not going to walk away ⁠from ​that,” said Mr. Starmer. He reiterated his position that it was not a good idea to hold a leadership contest which, he said, would cause “chaos” for Labour and the country.

More than 20% or 81 Labour MPs — the number required to trigger a new contest — have said they do not back Mr. Starmer, but none of them have clearly coalesced behind another candidate. However, that was before Mr. Burnham’s victory. The other prominent contender for 10 Downing Street is Mr. Starmer’s former Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

Labour leaders began urging Mr. Starmer to hand over power or speed up the internal party contest, as per a report in the Guardian.

Mr. Burnham ally and former lawmaker Louise Haigh, told the BBC that she hoped Mr. Starmer and Mr. Burnham could find “a managed way forward”.

A change in leadership could occur in a matter of days, but with Mr. Starmer wanting to fight it out, an internal party contest is more likely to occur over the coming months.