Burnham has the seat, his allies claim the numbers, cabinet ministers are turning, the unions are turning...
By Tyler Durden: Keir Starmer's premiership appears to have entered its final act.
Just over a week after Andy Burnham stormed back into Parliament with a
crushing by-election win, the Prime Minister is - according to senior
Labour figures cited by The Observer - preparing to set out a timetable for his own departure, with a "clear statement" possible as early as Monday.
It would be a remarkable collapse.
Starmer led Labour to a landslide less than two years ago. He now looks
unable to command the confidence of his own benches for much longer,
with cabinet ministers, union leaders and donors reportedly among those
who have been involved in the conversations about his future.Burnham, the outgoing Greater Manchester mayor, did not just win Makerfield - he buried it.
Official figures show him taking 24,927 votes, 54.8% of the total,
beating Reform UK's Rob Kenyon by a 9,231-vote margin in a seat where
Nigel Farage's party had been threatening to turn Labour's crisis into a
rout. The result gives Burnham the Commons seat he needs, clears his
path to a leadership challenge, and leaves Starmer's position looking
terminal.