‘British politics set for fresh chaos’: How world’s media reacted to Andy Burnham’s by-election win
Labour'sAndy Burnham, the current mayor ofGreater Manchester,won a special election for a seat in parliamentthat puts himin a position to challenge embattled prime ministerKeir Starmerfor leadership of the. . .
Labour'sAndy Burnham, the current mayor ofGreater Manchester,won a special election for a seat in parliamentthat puts himin a position to challenge embattled prime ministerKeir Starmerfor leadership of the country. Mr Burnhamdecisively won the seat of Makerfieldin northwest England over Rob Kenyon of the anti-immigration party Reform UK. The victory, announced early Friday, cements the status of Mr Burnham, a 56-year-old politician nicknamed "King of the North", as thetop contender to replaceSir Keiras leader of the Labour Partyand the country. Mr Burnham won almost 55 per cent of the 45,510 votes counted, over 9,000 more than Mr Kenyon. The world media watched the by-elections closely. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham of the Labour Party reacts after being declared the winner in the Makerfield by-election (Getty)"Rebel lawmaker set to try a knockout blow to UK's Starmer," headlined theWall Street Journal. The paper noted that "British politics is set for a fresh bout of chaos" as Mr Burnham enters parliament, allowing him to "launch a leadership challenge against the deeply unpopular Prime Minister Keir Starmer". British politics is set for a fresh bout of chaos after Andy Burnham's win, wrote WSJ (WSJ)In a piece titled, "The local election that could topple Britain's prime minister", theWashington Postwrote that if Mr Burnham wins Makerfield's election, he would be "running the entire country" as prime minister by as early as July. The Washington Post wrote a piece titled 'The local election that could topple Britain's prime minister' in their coverage running up to the poll results (Washington Post)The Australian Broadcasting Corporation in its report said while Mr Burnham "enjoys a high profile and immense personal popularity," his campaign was complicated as fielded by the "country's widely loathed Labour government". Some of the residents quoted by the news outlet voiced fierce support for Reform, characterising Sir Keir as someone who has had "poor judgment", referring to his decision to have Peter Mandelson as the UK's ambassador in Washington. Residents voiced support for Andy Burnham amid disenchatment with Sir Keir Starmer in the coverage by Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)The New York Times, in their piece titled "Labour mayor wins UK special election, clearing path to challenge Starmer", wrote: "The win will galvanize supporters of Mr Burnham, who have argued that he offers Labour its best chance of challenging Reform. "The New York Times covered Andy Burnham's win in a piece titled 'Labour Mayor Wins U. K. Special Election, Clearing Path to Challenge Starmer' (New York Times)It added that he will now begin his preparation to try and oust Sir Keir, who "has become one of the least popular prime ministers in modern British history".