According to France 24, Labour's Andy Burnham has won a by-election in Makerfield, a key northern England seat. The victory fuels speculation that Burnham could challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer for party leadership. The timing is stark: Starmer's popularity has collapsed just two years after Labour won a historic landslide in July twenty twenty-four. Labour is losing voters to both the rising Green Party and Reform UK, which now consistently leads in nationwide opinion polls. Burnham's win suggests he retains strong local support—and for Starmer, it raises the prospect of an internal party challenge.

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