Andy Burnham wins Makerfield by-election, paving way for him to challenge Keir Starmer as Labour leader

Rachel Flynn Live reporter This we know for sure: Andy Burnham is the new MP for Makerfield He won 55% of the vote - that's 9,000 more votes than Reform's Robert Kenyon. Burnham is no longer the Greater Manchester mayor - an election to replace him is expected to take place on 30 July . He believes he is the change the Labour Party needs (if we read between the lines) When Burnham told Labour Party members it was the "final chance to change", read between the lines - he was saying he could be the change the party needs, political correspondent Alex Forsyth writes . So will Burnham be the next prime minister? That's something we definitely don't know. Both Burnham and former health secretary Wes Streeting have said they would stand in any contest to replace the PM, and Streeting has suggested he would be prepared to trigger a leadership contest to replace him as early as next week . But as of yet, no challenge to Starmer has been made. Contenders would need the support of at least 81 Labour MPs. What is Starmer thinking? Again, we don't know. We haven't heard a response to the by-election result from the prime minister. He previously warned Burnham against launching a leadership challenge if he won in Makerfield. Did Burnham get his celebratory pint? As the Makerfield MP left the count with his family , he got into a car he said he was going for a "pint". We have yet to see if he found anywhere open in the small hours of a Friday morning...