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Friday briefing: Andy Burnham wins Makerfield byelection to set up possible leadership bid
Andy Burnham used his victory speech to call on Labour to act now, saying there would be no second chance. Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA View image in fullscreen Andy Burnham used his victory speech to call on Labour to act now, saying there would be no second chance. Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA Friday briefing: Andy Burnham wins Makerfield byelection to set up possible leadership bid In today’s newsletter: The mayor of Manchester is set to return to Westminster after decisively beating Nigel Farage’s Reform Good morning. Andy Burnham is heading back to the Commons after a resounding victory in Makerfield, putting Keir Starmer’s leadership on notice – and giving Reform something to think about. The – now to be former – mayor of Manchester described it as the “most consequential byelection of our lives”, that he promised would not only change the constituency, but the country. Already, he has touted his win as a “turning point”. The coming days will tell us more about what happens in terms of his expected challenge to Starmer’s premiership. But his stunning win against Reform is already being unpacked by politicians and pollsters. This morning I’m bringing you the latest from the count at the Edge conference centre in Wigan – and from Scotland, where two other byelection results were declared overnight. Five big stories Middle East | Talks set to take place on Friday between the United States and Iran on implementing the 14-point agreement to end their war have been cancelled , Switzerland’s foreign ministry has announced. Brexit | Michel Barnier has said Britain could regain its special terms if it rejoined the EU and claimed it was becoming clearer every day to the British people that they would be stronger in Europe. Ukraine | Ukrainian drones have hit several locations across Moscow in Kyiv’s biggest air raid on the city since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, setting a major oil refinery on fire and forcing evacuations at the country’s largest airport. UK politics | The attorney general has told his office to no longer post on X , making it the first UK government department to stop using the Elon Musk-owned platform amid increasing worries about its use to incite violence and racism. Environment | The environmental damage bill racked up by the highest-consuming 10% of the world’s population has reached up to $5.7tn a year – larger than the economy of every country except the US and China, a study has found. In depth: ‘Not a party atmosphere but very much “what’s next?”’ View image in fullscreen Andy Burnham looks to have united the progressive vote behind him. Photograph: Temilade Adelaja/Reuters As counting got under way late last night, no party seemed overly confident, our north of England correspondent Hannah Al-Othman tells me, but turnout of 58.75% up from 52.5% at the 2024 general election, and the highest for a byelection in seven years – was an early positive indicator for Burnham. When the results were announced just a
