Government crisis in London: landmark by-election on June 18th

The Labor MP Josh Simons had resigned specifically to pave the way for the previous mayor of Manchester to return to the House of Commons. Burnham can only replace Labor leader as a deputy and thus replace Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is under pressure.

Starmer is facing calls for his resignation from within his own ranks following the Labor Party’s debacle in local and regional elections. The head of government has so far ruled out a withdrawal. At the weekend, Health Minister Wes Streeting, who had recently resigned, announced that he would run as a possible successor to the ailing party and government leader. Whoever becomes leader of the ruling Labor Party, which has a clear majority in parliament, automatically becomes prime minister.

Burnham, who belongs to Labour’s left wing, is currently the most popular British politician across party lines. Before becoming mayor of the Manchester metropolitan region, he was a member of parliament and a temporary minister from 2001 to 2017. He has already started the election campaign in Makerfield, not far from Manchester, but is facing strong competition from the Reform UK party.

Although Labor narrowly won the parliamentary election there in 2024, in the most recent regional elections on May 7th, the right-wing populists won every single district in the constituency. Robert Kenyon, a local plumber, is running against Burnham for the anti-immigrant Reform UK party.