Labour MP pushes Burnham to launch leadership bid ‘really quickly’ after Makerfield byelection result – UK politics live

Josh Halliday is the Guardian’s North of England editor. The talk in Westminster has turned to the timing of a leadership challenge to Keir Starmer if, as expected, Andy Burnham wins in Makerfield tomorrow. Will Burnham call immediately for Starmer to step down? Or should Labour focus first on fighting Reform UK in what would be a fierce contest for Burnham’s job as Greater Manchester mayor? I was out all day in Makerfield yesterday and bumped into the Labour MP Rachael Maskell looking very upbeat as she headed out campaigning. She was very clear that Burnham should launch a leadership challenge immediately, saying: double quotation mark We need to move forward. This country is crying out for [Burnham’s] leadership. He needs to get sworn in and after that we need to look at the leadership and make sure we can form a good cohesive Labour government on the back of it. Asked whether she wanted to see Burnham in No 10 before Labour conference in September, she hinted that it could be sooner than that: “I’m optimistic that can happen really quickly.” Before any leadership challenge, Burnham has to win the Makerfield byelection . The polls suggest he is on course for a relatively comfortable victory, thanks in part to his own profile, the backing of an anti-Reform coalition of Lib Dem and Green voters, and Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain splitting the vote on the right. Maskell said the mood in the Burnham camp was “really positive”: double quotation mark This whole campaign ... people are smiling in the party again and [feel] that Labour has found its values and purpose once again. I’ve had people take down Reform posters and come behind Andy because they can see it’s become so divisive. People are now in the last minute of reaching a decision, turning to Andy because he’s bringing people together and doing politics in a different way. Restore Britain party stickers and Andy Burnham posters on display in Ashton-in-Makerfield today. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images