Burnham has won. More turmoil?

Wow, Labour really can't do right for doing wrong on MN these days. How things change ...

I actually really rate and like Starmer and I appreciate fully that I'm now in the minority there, but even I would have to admit that he's not going to 'help' now, is he? Nobody will give him a chance to continue to improve things (and a great many things have got better!) and TBH they only really gave him the first 12 months' grace after his landslide.

So now we have someone a lot of Labour voters like, who has credibility, experience and probably could do this job, but it's going to be 'turmoil'. But if Starmer stays, it'll be massively unpopular (on here anyway, it seems). I think the ship has sailed that had Starmer staying on and making good, and I hope he realises that.

That's the spirit. Chin up!

I can’t believe people get away with this type of comments.

I have to admit to not grasping politics as well as I perhaps should but one thing I do know for sure - Nigel Farage gives me the serious willies!

I mean into next GE

I agree. For those who promote the need for critical thinking skills, they certainly don't lead by example. This wasn't a necessary win for Reform. Labour, on the other hand and their sending voters to hassle other voters - no surprises there. One big circus.

Or perhaps people who stayed at home in the local elections saw what happened and went to the polling station yesterday. Voting patterns are different in local elections.

He makes it more likely Reform will win, surely.

There’s no indication that private schools closing is causing overcrowding in the state sector. Schools everywhere, both state and private, are closing due to collapsing roll numbers.

People should have voted for the Fox. People of Makerfield what were you thinking???

Reform won across the board in Makerfield in the local elections. Within weeks, the same constituency has just voted overwhelmingly for Burnham. Clearly people who voted Reform a few weeks ago have switched their votes to Burnham, because they want him to replace Keir Starmer. That was the entire purpose of this election.

I think we need to wait and see before deciding there's going to be turmoil.

ABs win in Makerfield does not automatically mean a leadership contest. Firstly, he has to want to go for it. Now that does seem very likely, but it doesn't mean he wants to go for it now, or via a leadership contest. There will be a lot of backroom talks and deals to be made and we will have to wait and see what the ultimate strategy is.

Secondly, if he does decide to try for it then he'd have to get 81 Labour MPs to back him, and it's far from guaranteed he could get that. It's been weeks since the Mandelson saga and even one week is a very long time in politics; things have calmed down considerably.

Thirdly, assuming he gets the 81 Labour MPs to back him and trigger the contest, he still has to win it. That is certainly not guaranteed. He'd need over 50% of the vote. We shouldn't underestimate the weight of inertia here. Boris Johnson, for example, won a leadership contest just in 2022 despite a massive revolt against his leadership in the party, and Theresa May did the same in 2017.

I agree that a leadership contest is certainly possible. But we are far from turmoil just yet.

I agree, I think that Reform are playing 4D chess when everyone else is playing draughts.

Losing the last four by-elections that they challenged is a clear demonstration of their strategic genius and mastery of the long game.

The only losers today are members of the British public who have to suffer yet more weeks of distraction for a Prime Minister incapable of actually running the country. Starmer's sole focus yet again will be serving his own interests and saving his own skin if possible.

This. With the best will in the world Burnham doesn't have a magic wand.

The UK doesn't operate in a vacuum, there are so many outside factors that influence policy and government expenditure.

If you're cool with taxing education then shame on you.

People paying for private education for their children were also paying for the state schools but not occupying those places so state school kids benefitted.

Now those private schools are closing the kids enter the state system and everything is worse and overcrowded.

What exactly is great about that?

Whilst I'm glad Reform lost (although I'm slightly concerned that they still got a substantial whack of votes), I'm not chuffed about it leading to another leadership contest.

I would a Prime Minister to actually stay the fucking course and stay in their position for an entire term. It's only been two years since the last election, people need to stop expecting instant wins, and parties need to stop knee jerk panicking and backstabbing just because the papers are being mean to them.

If Reform had won nothing would have changed, winning Makerfield wouldn’t have put them in government or made Farage prime minister. They would just have had one more MP.

What it would have done is stopped Burnham from winning and (probably) launching a bid to become prime minister.

This was not a Reform v Labour vote, it was a ‘Burnham to be prime minister or not vote’.

So if Reform had won, we wouldn’t now have the possibility of Burnham being PM.

Subterfuge? More like hilarious twisting of reality! You are as bad as Tice.

Labour rarely get rid of leaders and they want to for Starmer. He’s not liked at all, even his own party think he’s that bad.

We need stability and someone who can represent us on the world stage and I believe Starmer is the right person at the moment. But he has brought this on himself by failing to replace Rachel Reeves with someone with strategies for economic growth. This is hugely disappointing and a very negative step. I’m dreading the direction we will go in now.

Brexit was an unmitigated disaster for this country and a nice training lesson on dividing a nation and keeping us polarised and we've been polarised ever since.

The country was a mess before that and that was down to both the Conservatives and Labour (No money left - anyone remember?)

Since then it's got 100% worse and continues to gather momentum in that way?

There is NO way Burnham should be going for PM and I am baffled why anyone thinks he should.

I think if a party can't get their shit together on who leads them then a General election should be called.
They work for us (supposedly..) yet we are all working for them and the shitty decisions they keep making.

This is all paving the way for Reform to get in.

Remember Farage is a banker.

😂😂😂😂

I blame Streeting, not Burnham though for triggering the start of it all. The country desperately needs some stability and those two idiots are about to take it away from us in a depressing leadership contest where what we need is sensible.

This ^

I was so disappointed in Streeting going into sanctimonious power play when he was good mates with Mandy fgs. But he couldn’t resist sticking the knife in, et tu brute. And as someone pointed out earlier, the U turns are due to the Labour MPs themselves. Many of them are idiots.

I’m sick to death of this f’ing egotism driving our politics to such an extreme degree. This country does not need another leadership contest or another PM atm. Burnham could accept a cabinet position and help Starmer run this country but I doubt that would appease the man’s ego.

You can blame Reform voters according to Tice. Hilarious attempt by Tricky Dicky to play down yet another by-election loss.

Lots of sore Reform voters this morning. It is lovely to see.