Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham won the Makerfield by-election and will return to parliament after years away, according to N12 and Reuters. The victory strengthens his position to challenge UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership; Burnham is reportedly backed by 81 Labour MPs, enough to force a party primary.
Friday 13:40 Jerusalem — The race for the UK Labour leadership has entered a more concrete phase. As The Zioneer reported earlier today (07:34 Jerusalem), Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has been positioning himself to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer, backed by an alleged 81 Labour MPs. The by-election win in Makerfield now gives him a parliamentary seat, removing the main institutional obstacle to a formal challenge. The figure of 81 MPs remains unverified by official party counts, and the challenge itself has not been formally declared. No timeframe for a potential leadership vote has been set.
3 developments
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- DevelopingUK PM Starmer appoints Dan Jarvis as defense secretary after Healey resignation
- StrongGraham Platner wins Maine Senate primary, will face Susan Collins
- StrongNetanyahu schedules another political meeting amid Likud tensions over primary bypass
Source and signal
- Internal intake