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Has Burnham’s win in Makerfield sealed Starmer’s fate? - The Latest

6/19/202615 min

Andy Burnham’s resounding win in the Makerfield byelection has set the stage for a leadership battle with Keir Starmer. The outgoing mayor of Greater Manchester received more votes than Reform and Restore combined, and the nature of the victory has prompted speculation he could replace Starmer as prime minister within weeks, if not days. Annie Kelly speaks to political correspondent Alexandra Topping UK politics – live updates Andy Burnham wins by huge majority. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

Clips

Farage Vanishes After Crypto Gift
Burnham’s Radical Manchesterism Pitch
Rainy Stoke vs. Sunny Islington
Starmer Vows To Fight On

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Annie Kelly· Host0:00

    This is The Guardian.

  2. Alexandra Topping0:01

    I do think that the path to number ten seems clearer than ever.

  3. Andy Burnham· Soundbite0:14

    I do say to my own party, this is a final chance to change.

  4. Alexandra Topping0:22

    What comes next, it's all on the table now.

  5. Andy Burnham· Soundbite0:25

    If there is a contest, just to be clear with you, then yes, I will run, I will stand, and I've said repeatedly I'm not gonna walk away from that.

  6. Alexandra Topping0:32

    If I, you know, was gonna make a bet now, I don't think I would be betting on Keir Starmer.

  7. Annie Kelly· Host0:37

    From The Guardian's Today in Focus, this is The Latest with me, Annie Kelly. So what an absolute barnstormer of a win for Andy Burnham.

  8. Alexandra Topping0:49

    Yeah, pretty seismic.

  9. Annie Kelly· Host0:50

    Alexandra Topping, you're a political correspondent for The Guardian. He came in, he won by a majority of over nine thousand votes, a really decisive win over Reform as well. What's gonna happen next?

  10. Alexandra Topping1:01

    Well, it was a huge night in Ashton and Makerfield and, um, I think everybody has woken up this morning kind of surprised the scale- Yeah ... of the victory that Andy Burnham had overnight. I mean, we thought that it would be much closer than it was. Um, there was a real sense in the Labour camp that this was gonna be a big moment, and it really delivered. What comes next is really it's all on

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