Political attention this week remains centred on the increasingly consequential Makerfield by-election, where Andy Burnham’s attempt to return to Westminster has evolved into something closer to an unofficial Labour leadership primary. Burnham spent much of the week attempting to frame the contest as a choice between “community politics and culture war politics”, while Reform UK continued to pitch the seat as the clearest opportunity yet to land a knockout blow on Keir Starmer’s authority.
Polling released over the weekend suggested Labour still holds a narrow lead, although Reform remains within striking distance and the emergence of Rupert Lowe’s new Restore Britain movement - emboldened by a recent endorsement from Elon Musk - threatens to split the right-wing vote. Concerns have also been raised following allegations from non-profit group Hope not Hate that Reform's candidate, Robert Kenyon, deleted a personal social media account where he is alleged to have made misogynistic comments, peddled conspiracy theories, and advocated for the use of waterboarding.
In sum, what had initially looked like a straightforward contest has instead become a proxy battle over the future shape of British politics itself. Senior Labour figures have reportedly admitted in private that a Burnham defeat would almost certainly trigger another wave of destabilisation within the parliamentary party, with reports emerging that some MPs are already considering defections to the Greens if Labour’s electoral decline continues. Voting in the by-election is scheduled to take place on 18th June.
Meanwhile, the Green Party also continued to grab headlines, with their new MP Hannah Spencer levelling criticism at MPs over Parliament’s alleged drinking culture. Spencer complained that MPs could “smell the alcohol” between Commons votes, prompting the obvious observation from opponents that, given the current state of British politics, sobriety may simply no longer be considered compatible with public service.
Elsewhere, 60 Labour MPs labelled the UK voting system “broken” and called for a new national commission to examine elections to the House of Commons and recommend reforms. Electoral reform has traditionally been championed by smaller parties, whose vote share often fails to translate into meaningful parliamentary representation. However, growing support for reform among MPs from one of the UK’s two main political parties suggests the issue may now begin to occupy a more central place in Britain’s political debate.
Ultimately, every passing week appears to bring another reminder that Labour’s local election collapse was not viewed in Westminster as an isolated setback, but as the possible beginning of a much broader political realignment. With the Makerfield by-election rapidly becoming a national test of confidence in both Starmer and the government more widely, the sense persists that British politics is entering a far more fragmented, and considerably less predictable phase.
Headlines
- Three ways a new Labour leader could change the politics of growth - The Financial Times
- Reform-Tory pacts would lead to dozens more Right-wing councils - The Telegraph
- UK net migration needs to fall further, says Andy Burnham - BBC News