The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, candidate for the Labor Party, hopes to win against the candidate of the anti-immigration Reform UK party to return to Parliament.
A partial legislative election, crucial for the future of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has been set for June 18, local authorities in the constituency concerned, located near Manchester, in the north of England, announced on Wednesday. The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, the Labor Party candidate, hopes to win against the candidate of the anti-immigration Reform UK party, Robert Kenyon, a plumber by profession, to return to Parliament.
If Andy Burnham wins, he will be able to claim the succession to Keir Starmer at Downing Street and at the head of Labour. The head of government, unpopular in public opinion, has been highly criticized within his own party for months, and even more so since Labor’s heavy defeat in the local elections at the beginning of May. The Makerfield constituency is in a historic stronghold of the Labor Party but its dominance was cracked during the recent election, during which Reform UK made a breakthrough and won numerous local elected seats, including one for Robert Kenyon.
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Starmer said he would “100%” back the candidate
The leader of Reform, former Brexit figurehead Nigel Farage, has already warned that his party would throw “all his strength” in battle. The election was held after the Labor MP for the constituency decided to resign to allow Andy Burnham to stand. The candidacy of the latter, the most popular political figure in the United Kingdom and a member of the left wing of the Labor Party, was validated on Friday by the Labor leadership.
Keir Starmer has already said he would support “100%” the candidate during the electoral campaign. In the event of victory, Andy Burnham and the other contenders to succeed Keir Starmer, including his former Minister of Health Wes Streeting, will have to obtain the support of 81 Labor MPs (out of more than 400 in the House of Commons) to trigger an internal competition and run for leadership of Labour.
