‘Keir Starmer must step down’: Trade union leaders react to Andy Burnham’s landslide win in Makerfield
Union leaders say the victory proves that Labour can defeat Reform, but that Starmer shouldn't remain as prime minister
Trade union leaders have reacted to Andy Burnham’s Makerfield by-election win, saying that Keir Starmer should not remain as prime minister.
Among them, the leader of the National Union of Teachers, Daniel Kebede, and the Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, have both said Starmer should now step down.
Burnham won 24,937 votes in yesterday’s by-election, beating Reform’s Robert Kenyon by over 9,000 votes. Rupert Lowe’s hard-right party Restore Britain came in third, with 3,100 votes.
Reacting to yesterday’s by-election result, Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, said: “The win for Andy Burnham in Makerfield is a glimmer of hope but it must not be taken as a business as usual mandate.
“It is clear that there now needs to be an orderly timetable for a leadership election and Keir Starmer must do the right thing and step down. The inevitable leadership election must be fought on real change and policies. Not personalities or better speeches.”
Meanwhile, Kebede said that Burnham offered an alternative to the Starmer status quo and that his victory had shown that “a future Reform government is not inevitable”.
He added that “what’s clear is if Farage’s ascendancy is to be halted, Keir Starmer cannot remain as Prime Minister”.
“And whoever becomes Prime Minister must set Britain on a different economic path”.
UNISON did not want to comment on Burnham’s leadership ambitions, but general secretary Andrea Egan said: “Andy Burnham’s victory in Makerfield is an important achievement.
“It shows the public aren’t fooled by the divisive tactics of the far-right, proving Farage and co can be defeated.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward doesn't have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.
Donate today
