A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Makerfield took place on 18 June 2026 following the resignation of Josh Simons, Member of Parliament (MP) for the Labour Party.

Amid a leadership crisis in the Labour Party, Simons resigned to allow Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, to stand for Parliament, in order to challenge the incumbent Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the leadership. It was the first time since the 1965 Leyton by-election that a by-election had been triggered specifically to provide a vacancy for an individual not currently in Parliament.

Burnham won the by-election with almost 25,000 votes and a majority of over 9,200 votes, exceeding expectations from opinion polls which projected that he would win by a narrow margin over Reform UK. In the event, Reform considerably underperformed compared with its showing in the 2026 local elections, while tactical squeezing of the Liberal Democrat and Green Party vote was considered to help Burnham.

Two other by-elections, in Aberdeen South and Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, took place on the same day. Following Starmer's resignation four days after the by-election, Burnham was elected unopposed to the Labour Party leadership.

Background

According to a LabourList tracker, as of 14 May 2026, a total of 97 Labour MPs were calling on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign or announce a timetable for his resignation after the party suffered massive losses in the 2026 local elections.

Josh Simons, elected as MP for Makerfield at the 2024 general election, had previously resigned from his ministerial position as Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office on 1 March 2026. His resignation from government followed an investigation into allegations that his former think tank, Labour Together, had commissioned a private investigation into journalists' backgrounds. Although cleared of breaching the Ministerial Code, Simons described his continued presence in government as a "distraction" from the government's work.

On 14 May 2026, Simons resigned his seat in parliament in order to allow Andy Burnham to contest the by-election so as to be able to stand for the Labour leadership, in accordance with party rules that require any candidate for leader to be a member of the Parliamentary Labour Party. Simons's resignation was formalised on 18 May 2026, when he was appointed Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds, and the writ of election was moved in the House of Commons on 19 May 2026. A notice of election was published on 20 May 2026, confirming 18 June 2026 as the date for the vote, with nominations closing on 26 May.

The National Executive Committee of the Labour Party (NEC) voted to allow Burnham to stand in the seat, and certified him as Labour's candidate for the seat. The NEC had previously blocked him from standing in the earlier 2026 Gorton and Denton by-election. If elected to Parliament, Burnham would be required to stand down as mayor of Greater Manchester, triggering a mayoral by-election.

This was the first by-election since Leyton in 1965 specifically triggered to provide a seat for a politician not currently in parliament.

Constituency

The Makerfield constituency contains the towns of Ashton-in-Makerfield and Hindley as well as other residential areas on the western outskirts of Greater Manchester. Considered part of the red wall of working-class areas in northern and central England that traditionally vote Labour, Makerfield has been a safe seat for the Labour Party since its creation in 1983 from parts of Ince, Wigan and Leigh. Makerfield was represented from 1987 to 2010 by one-time cabinet minister Sir Ian McCartney, then by Yvonne Fovargue until 2024. In 2024, Josh Simons held the seat with a 5,399-vote (13.4%-points) majority over Reform UK.

Ninety-seven percent of the constituency's residents are ethnically White, and 96% were born in the UK. Just over half (51%) belong to social grades A, B, and C1. The average household income is £38,810, below the average for Great Britain as a whole but slightly above that for North West England, and the home-ownership rate is 74%, against 64% nationally. In the 2016 referendum an estimated 65% of those who voted chose to leave the European Union.

Political context

The Makerfield by-election took place in a significantly altered electoral landscape following the May 2026 local elections. Reform UK made large gains across Greater Manchester, while the Liberal Democrats gained control of Stockport Council. Labour suffered large losses, while the Green Party also increased its support. In the 2026 Wigan Council election, Reform UK won all eight council wards in the Makerfield constituency with around 50% of the vote. Polling analysis suggested that while no 'safe' Labour seats remained, Burnham's personal popularity in Greater Manchester would make a victory in the by-election achievable for Labour, though the party would face significant challenges from both Reform UK on the right and the Greens on the left.

Burnham's candidacy received much press attention, as he was seen as a probable challenger for the position of Labour Party leader against incumbent leader and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, opening a route to him becoming Prime Minister. The by-election was described as one of the most consequential in recent British history, with intense global media coverage, including in the constituency itself.

The by-election occurred on the same day as Westminster by-elections for two Scottish seats: Aberdeen South and Arbroath and Broughty Ferry.

Candidates

Labour and Co-operative Party

Incumbent Labour MP Josh Simons resigned in order to provide a parliamentary seat for Andy Burnham, the incumbent mayor of Greater Manchester and former MP for Leigh.

As an incumbent mayor, Burnham required authorisation from the Labour Party's National Executive Committee (NEC) to stand as an MP. Burnham's previous attempt to represent Labour at the February 2026 Gorton and Denton by-election was blocked by the NEC; however, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Lucy Powell, who serves as an officer of the NEC, and former health secretary Wes Streeting publicly supported Burnham's bid to become the Labour candidate for Makerfield. On 15 May, the NEC authorised Burnham to be considered as a candidate.

On 19 May, Burnham was confirmed as the candidate after no other names were put forward for selection by the NEC, thus bypassing the local party's voting process. He stood on behalf of both the Labour and Co-operative parties under the Labour and Co-operative Party description. Burnham was a minister in both the Blair and Brown governments, and in the shadow cabinets of Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn.

Reform UK On 19 May, Robert Kenyon, a local plumber born in the constituency, was confirmed as Reform UK's candidate. He was recently elected as the councillor for Bryn with Ashton-in-Makerfield North on Wigan Council, and ran as a Reform UK candidate in Makerfield in the 2024 general election, finishing second to Labour. He formerly served as a combat engineer in the Army Reserve within the Royal Engineers.

Shortly thereafter, Hope not Hate published a series of tweets attributed to Kenyon, which included COVID-19 conspiracies; endorsing lewd comments about presenter Carol Vorderman; and sexualised comments about female rugby players. On a separate web forum, Kenyon was also alleged to have admitted his own sexism; suggested that women make false rape accusations to access abortions "for vanity purposes"; criticised Brexit and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage; and said that Russia was "within their rights" to annex Crimea. It was also reported that Kenyon had connected on Facebook with neo-fascist campaigners such as Gary Raikes.

Reform UK said that it "fully back[ed]" Kenyon and was aware of his accounts during the party's vetting process, adding that connecting with Raikes on Facebook "does not constitute an endorsement of his views". They also stated that Kenyon did not support Russia's annexation of Crimea or their invasion of Ukraine. Reform MP Danny Kruger alleged that several of Kenyon's comments were taken out of context. After Vorderman asked for an apology, Kenyon admitted his post was "crude" but declined to apologise, stating that "no offence was meant". He also admitted making "crass" comments in the past that had been unearthed, noting they were written as a private citizen before his entry into local politics, and defended his historical posts, including a comment about Vorderman, claiming they were "jokes" from a time when he was not a public figure. The posts were criticised by a spokesperson for the Burnham campaign and by Anna Turley, the Labour Party Chair, both of whom stated that Kenyon was "not fit to represent" Makerfield; Luke Pollard, Minister of State for Defence Readiness, who stated that Kenyon was repeating "Kremlin talking points"; and Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe, who stated Kenyon lacked "a healthy mind".

Conservative Party It was initially reported that several figures within the Conservative Party, including Gainsborough MP and Father of the House Edward Leigh and former North East Somerset MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, were supportive of an electoral pact with Reform UK; this was later dismissed by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch.

On 20 May, the party selected Michael Winstanley to stand as its candidate. He was born in Makerfield and had previously stood for election in the constituency in the 1997 general election. He had also stood in 2010 in Wigan, and in 2024 in Leigh and Atherton. He sat as the councillor for Orrell on Wigan Council from 2000 to 2016, serving as the Mayor of Wigan from 2010 to 2011.

Liberal Democrats On 22 May, the Liberal Democrats introduced as their candidate Jake Austin, a councillor for Hazel Grove on Stockport Council, and candidate in the 2024 Greater Manchester mayoral election in which he placed sixth. Austin was born in the Makerfield constituency.

Green Party On 21 May, after a hustings, the Green Party nominated local nurse Chris Kennedy as its candidate. Kennedy withdrew his candidacy later that day with the Green Party said this was due to conflict with his family's caring responsibilities. The Times later reported that it had approached him about social media comments in March 2026 in which he had referred to the 2026 Hatzola arson attack as a false flag operation, with BBC News reporting that the comments were a factor in his withdrawal. The Green Party responded, saying Kennedy apologised for the comments, which did not reflect the view of the party.

Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas called on the party to stand down in favour of Burnham, given his support for proportional representation. The stance was also supported by another former Green leader, Jonathan Bartley, as well as former councillor Rupert Read. Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – one of the Greens' two Lords – disagreed, as did Hannah Spencer, who had recently been elected in Gorton and Denton.

The Greens nominated Sarah Wakefield, a charity director and a councillor in Manchester City Council, as their new candidate on 26 May. Wakefield previously attempted to stand in Gorton and Denton.

Restore Britain Local businesswoman Rebecca Shepherd was confirmed on 18 May as Restore Britain's candidate. This was the first time the party stood a candidate for Parliament. Restore said Rebecca had spent "most of her adult life" living and working in the Wigan borough where she had run a riding school until a conflict with the local council.

Other candidates Libertarian Party – On 22 May, the party nominated Dan Clarke, the Libertarian candidate in the 2026 Gorton and Denton by-election. He also contested the 2024 UK general election in Runcorn and Helsby, and the subsequent by-election, as the Liberal Party candidate.