Andy Burnham won the Makerfield parliamentary by-election, defeating Reform UK candidate Robert Kenyon. Burnham, who served as mayor of Greater Manchester, received 24,927 votes, and Kenyon received 15,696 votes, according to SCMP. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of the previous MP, Josh Simons, as reported by channel1la.com. Burnham’s win positions him to challenge Keir Starmer for leadership of the Labour Party. Burnham stated that Labour needs to 'make life affordable' again, and that Britain requires fundamental change across its economy, immigration system, education, and industry, according to mercopress and france24. Robert Kenyon has been dogged by controversy over alleged sexist and misogynistic social media posts, according to channel1la.com. Keir Starmer is facing mounting pressure to step aside following dismal council election results last month and the resignations of Secretary of State for Defence John Healey and Armed Forces Minister Al Carns over the UK’s defence budget, according to channel1la.com. Burnham is nicknamed the 'King of the North', according to SCMP.