Burnham ‘bounce’ sees Labour claim stunning by-election win over Reform in PM’s backyard

Detailed summary

Labour won in the part of the country it lost 25 seats consecutively earlier this year - and figures from across the party spectrum have credited one man for the win

Labour has claimed a stunning by-election win thanks to a "Burnham bounce" in the Prime Minister's constituency.

Voters in Makerfield elected John Vickers in the Wigan council by-election on Thursday (November 12). Vickers' win in the Hindley Green ward comes six months after Labour lost 25 seats in a row in Wigan in the local elections.

The disastrous results prompted Andy Burnham, then Greater Manchester mayor, to stand in a Parliamentary by-election in Makerfield, part of Wigan. After he saw off Reform UK in the June contest, he was named Labour leader and Prime Minister in July, replacing Keir Starmer.

While Labour has seen a boost in the polls since Burnham took up the helm, there has been little evidence the party can beat Nigel Farage's outfit in the next general election - until Friday morning. The borough by-election was seen by many as a barometer of support for the new PM with polling happening in his own back yard.

Reflecting on the rapid turn in his fortunes, Cllr Vickers acknowledged that Andy Burnham’s earlier win in Makerfield ‘had a lot to do with tonight’. He said: “People were disillusioned in May and what happened on June 18 certainly put a lot of faith back in people who had perhaps decided that the Labour Party was not going in the right direction.”

Reform UK figures locally also acknowledged "momentum maybe seems to be with Labour now, after the Burnham bounce". However, he vowed the party would come back stronger.

He added: “I’m still confident that in May 2027 Reform UK will take control of Wigan council. The voter turnout was 26 percent tonight, in May it was 39 percent."

Labour remains in control of Wigan council, with 43 councillors to Reform's 25. In another Greater Manchester by-election, Reform held on to a seat in Oldham, but the Labour vote share doubled from May's local elections, the M.E.N. added.

Reform won the Failworth West seat with 41.5 percent of the vote, with Labour second on 38.8 percent.

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