Burnham faces Reform’s Kenyon in pivotal UK byelection

Andy Burnham will face Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon in next month’s crucial Makerfield byelection, a contest that could reshape British politics for years to come.

Reform is billing Kenyon, a plumber and army reservist who contested the Wigan-area seat in the 2024 general election, as a local champion taking on a professional politician who is using the seat for personal advantage.

Kenyon faced immediate scrutiny over his social media activity. Deleted posts on X show he appeared to question the efficacy of a vaccine, interacted with a Dutch far-right influencer and praised Donald Trump. The Conservative Party also asked why Kenyon’s account had been suspended.

Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, was selected by Labour’s national executive committee. No other candidates were on the shortlist despite other applicants. The byelection is expected on June 18.

Burnham has said openly he wants to return to Westminster to change Labour’s direction nationally, and a leadership challenge against Keir Starmer is widely anticipated if he wins. In a statement, Burnham said he was humbled to be selected and pledged to highlight neglected parts of the UK, such as Makerfield.

Announcing Kenyon as Reform’s candidate, party leader Nigel Farage called the byelection a “David versus Goliath battle.”

In a video posted by Reform, Kenyon accused Burnham of using Makerfield as a stepping stone, a likely campaign attack despite Burnham’s family home being nearby.

“Labour and probably the other parties have got career politicians. They go to private school, to university, they get a job at a thinktank or they are an assistant to an MP and then before you know it they are parachuted into somewhere they have never even visited to stand as an MP,” Kenyon said.

Kenyon, who was born in Makerfield and previously worked as a specialist NHS technician in Lancashire, finished second in the 2024 election, 5,399 votes behind Labour’s Josh Simons. Simons announced last week he would step aside to allow Burnham to seek a return to Parliament.

Archived copies of Kenyon’s X posts include a reply to an NHS account questioning its claim that a vaccine is 90% effective, asking: “How many people were tested and what is the protection rate for people who hadn’t had the vaccine?”

After the murder of three young children in Southport, Kenyon replied to a post by Eva Vlaardingerbroek, a prominent Dutch influencer who was among 11 far-right activists banned from the UK before a rally last weekend. Kenyon asked her: “Any description of the attacker?”

He also expressed support for U.S. President Donald Trump in several posts, telling another X user: “Trump is very popular, just not in your liberal circle.”

Labour and Reform are favorites for the byelection but face challenges from both left and right. Restore Britain, the openly far-right party founded by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe, has selected local businesswoman Rebecca Shepherd as its candidate and deployed targeted Facebook ads in Makerfield on Tuesday. The Green Party is expected to pick a candidate on Wednesday.

Starmer chaired a cabinet meeting Tuesday morning, the first since Wes Streeting, another expected leadership rival, resigned as health secretary.

The prime minister later used a Downing Street event to praise the Renters’ Rights Act, which grants new tenant protections. “We had to fight for this,” Starmer said. “This is not a dry piece of legislation that just sits on the statute books … it makes a real impact for renters up and down the country.”

Starmer has refused to set a timetable for his departure, saying he hopes to lead Labour into the next election.

Mark Drakeford, Labour first minister of Wales from 2018 to 2024, said Tuesday he wants Burnham to replace Starmer.

“I think Keir Starmer should set out a timetable for a change in leadership of the United Kingdom Labour party and the United Kingdom itself,” Drakeford told Channel 4 News.

“He is a decent man who works extremely hard every day to do his very best, but a combination of circumstances and capacity mean that it hasn’t worked out, and it’s time to recognise that and make a plan to move ahead.”