Farage disappointed as Andy Burnham wins Makerfield by-election for Labour

Nigel Farage’s disappointment in Makerfield was less about a single lost contest than about the limits of his party’s anti-Starmer appeal. Andy Burnham held the seat for Labour with 24,937 votes, or 54.8%, while Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon finished second on 15,696 votes, or 34.5%, in a result that showed how quickly the anti-Labour vote fractured once Burnham entered the race.

The by-election was triggered when Labour MP Josh Simons resigned on 14 May 2026. Labour selected Burnham on 21 May, and the former Leigh MP, who represented the area from 2001 to 2017 and has been Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017, returned to Westminster after eight years away. His majority was 9,241, a margin of 20.3 percentage points, on a turnout of 58.75% from an electorate of 76,641.

For Labour, the result was stronger than the 2024 general election numbers in the same seat. Burnham’s share was higher than Simons’s 45.2% last year, and Labour’s lead over Reform widened from 13.4 points in 2024 to 20.3 points in the by-election. It was also Labour’s best performance in Makerfield since 2017, giving Keir Starmer a badly needed national boost after recent local-election losses.

Farage argued that Reform had been hurt by anti-Starmer tactical voting, insisting the contest became more about voters wanting to eject Starmer than backing Reform itself. The vote tally supports part of that claim: Reform’s 34.5% was solid, but it did not break through Burnham’s local advantage, and the presence of Restore Britain’s Rebecca Shepherd on 6.8% helped split the right. The Conservatives were squeezed to 2.2%, their second-lowest share at a Westminster by-election since the Second World War, while eight other candidates and the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Greens all lost their deposits.

The deeper message from Makerfield is that Reform can still assemble a large protest vote, but it has not yet shown it can overcome a high-profile Labour candidate with strong local recognition. Burnham’s win, and his return to the Commons, is likely to sharpen Labour’s internal tensions as he is widely expected to challenge Starmer’s authority from within Westminster. Starmer has said he would fight any challenge rather than “walk away.”