Starmer’s future on the line as Britain holds closely watched vote

Keir Starmer isn’t on the ballot, but the UK prime minister’s future is on the line in a special election on Thursday.

Voters in the Makerfield district of northwest England are electing a new lawmaker, and the leading contender is Andy Burnham of the governing Labour Party, the current mayor of Greater Manchester and oddsmakers’ favourite to be the next prime minister.

If Burnham defeats a candidate from the anti-immigration party Reform UK and wins the seat for Labour, he’s almost certain to challenge the embattled Starmer for leadership of the party, and the country.

Burnham has pledged that “if people put their trust in me, I will change politics” – a big promise for a politician who, if he wins, will be just one of 650 lawmakers in the House of Commons.

But the scores of journalists from around the world who have flocked to Makerfield during the campaign are evidence that this is no normal by-election, the results of which are due early Friday.

About 75,000 people are eligible to vote in Makerfield, a constituency that encompasses several towns and villages on the edge of Greater Manchester, 320km (200 miles) northwest of London.