Starmer’s challenger faces uphill battle in key vote

Makerfield, a little-known political district in northwest England, has been thrust into the spotlight ahead of a by-election dubbed one of the most consequential in British history.

The June 18 vote could prompt Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s downfall, as the main potential rival to replace him bids to win a parliamentary seat and pave the way for a leadership challenge.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has stopped short of formally announcing his intention to oust Starmer. But the 56-year-old is expected to trigger a contest to become Labour leader, which would mean also becoming prime minister, if he is made a member of parliament (MP).

“A vote for me in this by-election campaign is a vote to change Labour,” he said last Friday, launching his campaign in the constituency.

Addressing supporters in a sports club’s car park, he argued the party must return to being “solidly on the side of working-class people”.

In a nearby residential street of terraced houses, the scale of the challenge was apparent.

“I’ve lost faith in Labour, so whether it’s Keir Starmer or Andy Burnham, I think they’re done,” said self-employed joiner Mick Dean. “My dad was a Labour voter. His dad would turn over in his grave if he found out we’ve moved on, but they’re not for the working class any more.”

Dean will vote for Brexit champion Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Reform UK party, which triumphed in local elections across England this month.

The disastrous results for Labour, which came a distant second and sustained heavy losses in Wales and Scotland, sparked a simmering Labour rebellion against Starmer.

The by-election was triggered when Makerfield’s MP resigned after the polls, saying he wanted to give Burnham the chance to win the seat and challenge Starmer.

But Burnham’s attempted Westminster return — he was a Labour MP between 2001 and 2017, served in governments and twice stood to be leader — is fraught.

Once a safe Labour seat held since 1983, Makerfield overwhelmingly backed Reform in the May 7 local council vote.

A repeat in next month’s by-election would leave Burnham’s Downing Street ambitions in tatters and Starmer’s political future uncertain.

Burnham is banking on his regional popularity to prevail. Born in Liverpool, he previously represented a neighbouring parliamentary seat.

Home to nearly 80,000 people, Makerfield sits in Labour’s “red wall” — former industrial heartlands increasingly deserting the party.

© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd

المصدر: New Straits Times