Andy Burnham won Makerfield

Bye bye Reform

It was more of a vote to get rid of Stamer.
As far as l am concerned.

And Burnham made hay whilst the sun shined. It was a Traditional Northern, old Labour stronghold constituency .Simple as that.

And don't think Reform have gone away yet.

Nancat

Back in '24, the Labour Party won he election to remove the Conservative Party, not Starmer, Micky Mouse could have been leader and they still would have won. Since then Starmer has shown a total lack of empathy or understanding of the wishes of the majority of UK citizens. He is first and foremost a lawyer, whether or not his decisions benefit the UK, and unwilling to challenge anything with a precedent he can use. He has had wins, but nothing on the big issues facing the country. So now a decision to change the leader to someone with a bit more charisma, no change to the manifesto as it's not a GE, and no indication from the prospective candidates of any ideas to implement the changes the Country needs on the important issues that were in the manifesto. So what are we gaining? The bill from the taxpayer's pocket for the by-election and the following mayoral election!

Whilst I don’t agree with the Mickey Mouse part, I do agree with the majority of the rest of your post.

By all accounts the Mayor election alone is going to cost a little under £5m. Has anyone thought about how a Reform Mayor might be elected to Manchester? A huge and powerful role covering many people.

Really 85% of our politicians are self-serving. Very sad and very dangerous.

I think that sums up lots of politicians in general. It's not surprising they are spoken about disrespectfully because they are often just opportunists and schemers.
I wish it hadn't come to this for Starner, but he has been master of his own destiny.

FranP

Self-serving Burnham dumped the people of Manchester, and will shortly dump the duped people of Makerfield while he goes for his own agenda and splits the work of the current government and if he wins will take all of the credit for the foundations laid by Starmer to fix Tory budget decimation. He is only out for himself.

I’m afraid there’s quite a big part of me who agrees.

It’s not where a govt starts or is mid term, but more importantly where the country is at the end of their term.

For whatever reasons you might believe Starmer won his job fairly and squarely and he deserves to see it through and then be judged.

Back in '24, the Labour Party won he election to remove the Conservative Party, not Starmer, Micky Mouse could have been leader and they still would have won. Since then Starmer has shown a total lack of empathy or understanding of the wishes of the majority of UK citizens. He is first and foremost a lawyer, whether or not his decisions benefit the UK, and unwilling to challenge anything with a precedent he can use. He has had wins, but nothing on the big issues facing the country. So now a decision to change the leader to someone with a bit more charisma, no change to the manifesto as it's not a GE, and no indication from the prospective candidates of any ideas to implement the changes the Country needs on the important issues that were in the manifesto. So what are we gaining? The bill from the taxpayer's pocket for the by-election and the following mayoral election!

FranP

Self-serving Burnham dumped the people of Manchester, and will shortly dump the duped people of Makerfield while he goes for his own agenda and splits the work of the current government and if he wins will take all of the credit for the foundations laid by Starmer to fix Tory budget decimation. He is only out for himself.

Very true sadly. Makerfield is just a stepping stone for him.
Really 85% of our politicians are self-serving. Very sad and very dangerous.
It should have been Corbyn but he was stabbed in the back.

I am delighted that the Reform candidate was thoroughly beaten in this election.
I would really like to see Starmer and Burnham working together as they both have differing attributes which could change our country for the better. Other places have job share opportunities why not in Government?
I really don’t want a leadership contest. Starmer was vilified by much of the press from the word go and he was beginning to steady the ship until Trump went out of control and damaged our economy.
I hope they put egos aside, work together and find common ground . I am ever optimistic.

Self-serving Burnham dumped the people of Manchester, and will shortly dump the duped people of Makerfield while he goes for his own agenda and splits the work of the current government and if he wins will take all of the credit for the foundations laid by Starmer to fix Tory budget decimation. He is only out for himself.

JenniferEccles

A post earlier said something about being pleased that Reform didn’t come anywhere.
Well they came second so they most certainly did come somewhere !

Interesting times. Starmer has insisted he’s not going anywhere and would most certainly stand if there’s a leadership challenge.

He doesn’t need to “stand” - see below,

“How do Labour MPs initiate a leadership challenge against the leader?

There is only one way for Labour MPs to formally initiate a leadership challenge. A challenger (or challengers) must be nominated by at least 20% of the combined ranks of Labour MPs.

Currently, 81 Labour MPs would need to jointly nominate a challenger. Nominations must be submitted in written form to the general secretary of the party. This triggers a leadership contest.

In these circumstances, *a sitting leader is not required to seek nominations (they are on the ballot paper by default).•

Can Labour MPs remove a leader through a vote of no confidence?
Unlike the Conservative Party, there is no formal role for a vote of no confidence as part of the process of a leadership challenge.

Although the Parliamentary Labour Party held a no confidence vote in the leader in 2016, Jeremy Corbyn refused to resign and argued that his support among party members outweighed his lack of support from Labour MPs.

What is the voting system used in a Labour leadership election?

The Labour Party has used a one-person-one-vote system for leadership elections since 2015. As both Labour Party members and affiliated trade union supporters are able to vote, this system ensures that the same person cannot vote both as a trade union member and as a Labour Party member. Until October 2021, it was also possible for registered supporters to vote without becoming a full party member. However, this is no longer the case.
Affiliated trade union members have to opt-in to be affiliated supporters of the Labour Party. Members of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) also have one vote each in the leadership election. This means that a large membership can vastly outvote the PLP.
Voting takes place using the alternative vote system (a preferential ballot). If one candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, they are elected. If no candidate manages this, then the candidate who came last is removed and their votes are redistributed to voters’ second preference candidates. This process is repeated until one candidate has more than half of the votes.“

pomegranatejuice

A lot of knee jerk responses to the Makerfield by-election, with some derogatory name calling too. Have to say I don’t always know how to interpret many of the single word metaphors
; my view is they are shorthand for lazy thinking as distinct to political analysis.

However the results are v. Interesting. An absolute majority for Burnham, and we don’t really know whether it’s because that population wants a change to the current PM or wants to change the perceived direction of the LP. Whether I support the PM or not, this govt has achieved a huge amount in the 2 yrs since taking power, whether to do with housing, transport, nurseries and childcare, health etc, debates around assisted dying etc. Clearly, in preparation for change the groundwork had or has been laid in preparation for major legislative change across a number of areas.

Whilst I dont believe in celebrity type politicians, clearly many people, and on grans net too seem to believe that an individual holds responsibility and makes all the decisions, and we don’t, at least yet have a President, and I hope we never have powers residing in a single individual. That would be disaster.

This govt and in particular Starmer has been exemplary in international negotiations, and his demeanour and handling around Iran in particular is unsurpassable.

I would hate to see the media provoke more splits, I would hate to see the media whip up more belief in short term change too. I hope the LP will not be seduced into short-termism and the rhetoric that goes with it. I am not sure that whoever might be the leader, will not be subjected to dissection by the media. Most of all I would love to see more of a move towards the left, back into Europe, progressive education and health policies. Death to Palantir too, which goes without saying.

I hope whatever will be the complexion within the govt, we can move forward, without a return to what the tories have done since Cameron came in and the total disaster that has ensued.

And by the way, even with the triple lock my state pension is below the minimum wage, I would drown if it were removed. I have worked at weekends since the age of 13, in the holidays whilst studying and held a professional career, subsequently, until retired sick, and still continuing with work as much as I can, in my late seventies. That’s with no benefits, my pension being an entitlement, and not a benefit.

I wonder what income these people who wish the end to the triple lock actually have at their disposal, and what experience they have of the wider world.

Thank you. A good summing up.

pomegranatejuice

A lot of knee jerk responses to the Makerfield by-election, with some derogatory name calling too. Have to say I don’t always know how to interpret many of the single word metaphors
; my view is they are shorthand for lazy thinking as distinct to political analysis.

However the results are v. Interesting. An absolute majority for Burnham, and we don’t really know whether it’s because that population wants a change to the current PM or wants to change the perceived direction of the LP. Whether I support the PM or not, this govt has achieved a huge amount in the 2 yrs since taking power, whether to do with housing, transport, nurseries and childcare, health etc, debates around assisted dying etc. Clearly, in preparation for change the groundwork had or has been laid in preparation for major legislative change across a number of areas.

Whilst I dont believe in celebrity type politicians, clearly many people, and on grans net too seem to believe that an individual holds responsibility and makes all the decisions, and we don’t, at least yet have a President, and I hope we never have powers residing in a single individual. That would be disaster.

This govt and in particular Starmer has been exemplary in international negotiations, and his demeanour and handling around Iran in particular is unsurpassable.

I would hate to see the media provoke more splits, I would hate to see the media whip up more belief in short term change too. I hope the LP will not be seduced into short-termism and the rhetoric that goes with it. I am not sure that whoever might be the leader, will not be subjected to dissection by the media. Most of all I would love to see more of a move towards the left, back into Europe, progressive education and health policies. Death to Palantir too, which goes without saying.

I hope whatever will be the complexion within the govt, we can move forward, without a return to what the tories have done since Cameron came in and the total disaster that has ensued.

And by the way, even with the triple lock my state pension is below the minimum wage, I would drown if it were removed. I have worked at weekends since the age of 13, in the holidays whilst studying and held a professional career, subsequently, until retired sick, and still continuing with work as much as I can, in my late seventies. That’s with no benefits, my pension being an entitlement, and not a benefit.

I wonder what income these people who wish the end to the triple lock actually have at their disposal, and what experience they have of the wider world.

Thanks. A much more rational dissection of the result than I am capable of at the moment but pretty much says what my scrambled brain would like to say.

A lot of knee jerk responses to the Makerfield by-election, with some derogatory name calling too. Have to say I don’t always know how to interpret many of the single word metaphors
; my view is they are shorthand for lazy thinking as distinct to political analysis.

However the results are v. Interesting. An absolute majority for Burnham, and we don’t really know whether it’s because that population wants a change to the current PM or wants to change the perceived direction of the LP. Whether I support the PM or not, this govt has achieved a huge amount in the 2 yrs since taking power, whether to do with housing, transport, nurseries and childcare, health etc, debates around assisted dying etc. Clearly, in preparation for change the groundwork had or has been laid in preparation for major legislative change across a number of areas.

Whilst I dont believe in celebrity type politicians, clearly many people, and on grans net too seem to believe that an individual holds responsibility and makes all the decisions, and we don’t, at least yet have a President, and I hope we never have powers residing in a single individual. That would be disaster.

This govt and in particular Starmer has been exemplary in international negotiations, and his demeanour and handling around Iran in particular is unsurpassable.

I would hate to see the media provoke more splits, I would hate to see the media whip up more belief in short term change too. I hope the LP will not be seduced into short-termism and the rhetoric that goes with it. I am not sure that whoever might be the leader, will not be subjected to dissection by the media. Most of all I would love to see more of a move towards the left, back into Europe, progressive education and health policies. Death to Palantir too, which goes without saying.

I hope whatever will be the complexion within the govt, we can move forward, without a return to what the tories have done since Cameron came in and the total disaster that has ensued.

And by the way, even with the triple lock my state pension is below the minimum wage, I would drown if it were removed. I have worked at weekends since the age of 13, in the holidays whilst studying and held a professional career, subsequently, until retired sick, and still continuing with work as much as I can, in my late seventies. That’s with no benefits, my pension being an entitlement, and not a benefit.

I wonder what income these people who wish the end to the triple lock actually have at their disposal, and what experience they have of the wider world.

GemmaMack

But it’s a great result for Andy Burnham and a huge blow to Reform

Hopefully, people are seeing Reform as a Limited Company governed by foreign billionaires. They are snake oil salesmen fooling the British public. How is Brexit going? They can never deliver. I don't know why people are not asking his Clacton constituents how hard he is working as their MP. Well he certainly can't use the security argument for not having surgeries as I think the £5m donation was for his personal safety.

reformparty.uk/news/how-andy-burnham-betrayed-the-victims-of-grooming-gangs

We can only pray if Burnham becomes PM, he will get rid of Rachel Reeves and David Lammy. Lisa Nandy deserves a place in his Cabinet.

I’m glad that he did, but think the age of the triple lock is long gone really

Fabulous that the Labour Party can produce three excellent candidates in Starmer, Streeting and Burnham. As a party member I look forward to reading their election statements and voting.

I think he may be able to unite the Labour Party. We can't have the likes of Reform and Restore running the country.

Galaxy

Thas the end for Starmer.

Not necessarily. He has to win the confidence of 81 Labour members in a leadership ballot and, while a few MPs have already spoken up, there are over 400 others whose views are unknown.

Different fight up here, all about oil and gas and a bit of tactical voting to keep SNP out.

I think Andy Burnam is an ambitious disloyal chancer. He's a much better communicater than Starmer but that's no reason to cause this chaos. He'll have to face the same problems and make the same compromises and trade offs.
The Labour government has done much that is positive. Mistakes made of course but no reason to change pm mid term.

I would like to see Conservative and Reform merge with Kemi as PM….🤗

Once the media have achieved a Labour Party leadership contest they will then call for a general election on the grounds of Burnhams leadership being undemocratic.

We hear a lot about Andy Burnham in 'greater manchester' (where most of us are nowhere near manchester) and really he's only all for improving the lot of the actual residents of just in manchester.I dont trust him, he's too smarmy, he appears to be anti- disabled folk too. So God help us if theres any of us with disablements/medical problems if he gets his feet under the table😐