2026 Makerfield by-election

A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Makerfield is expected to be held in 2026 following the announced resignation of Josh Simons. He announced his resignation amid the ongoing government crisis to allow Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to stand. It is the first time in over sixty years that a vacancy has been made specifically to provide a seat for a figure outside Parliament, the last example being the 1965 Leyton by-election.

The election is expected to take place in early summer 2026 and could be as early as 18 June.

According to a LabourList tracker, close to 100 Labour MPs are calling on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign or announce a timetable for his resignation after the party suffered massive losses in the 2026 local elections.

Josh Simons, elected as MP for Makerfield at the 2024 general election, initially resigned from his ministerial position Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office on 1 March 2026. His resignation from government followed an investigation into allegations that his former think tank, Labour Together, had commissioned a private investigation into journalists' backgrounds. Although cleared of breaching the Ministerial Code, Simons described his continued presence in government as a "distraction" from the government's work.

Following Labour's significant losses in the May 2026 local elections, during which the party lost 1,498 councillors, Simons joined calls for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to step down and set out "an orderly timetable for a transition."

The Makerfield by-election takes place in a significantly altered electoral landscape following the May 2026 local elections. Reform UK secured 30% of the vote across Greater Manchester, while Labour was reduced to 23% and the Greens increased their support to 19%. Polling analysis suggests that while no "safe" Labour seats remain, Burnham's personal popularity in Greater Manchester makes a Makerfield by-election victory achievable for Labour, though the party faces significant challenges from both Reform UK on the right and the Greens on the left.

Andy Burnham (right) is seeking to become the Labour candidate in the by-election. There is media speculation that he is likely to stand as a candidate against current prime minister Keir Starmer (left) in a possible leadership election.

Simons's resignation was explicitly done to provide a seat for Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham. Burnham declared his candidacy on the same day, pending authorisation to run from the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party. The NEC is expected to approve Burnham as allies of Keir Starmer said he would not seek to block him.

Burnham had previously attempted to secure a parliamentary seat by applying to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election in January 2026, but was blocked by the Labour Party's National Executive Committee in an 8–1 vote, which Angela Rayner has since called a mistake. The by-election was won by Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer, whom Burnham previously defeated in the 2024 Greater Manchester mayoral election.

Burnham, who served as MP for Leigh from 2001 to 2017, has emerged as a frontrunner to succeed Starmer as Labour leader. Under Labour party rules, a candidate for leader must be an MP. Polling has consistently shown Burnham as the most popular senior Labour figure among both party members and the general public, with one poll showing 62% of Labour members would back him against Starmer in a hypothetical head-to-head contest.

Burnham is a long-time supporter of proportional representation; in an article for Sky News, reporter Faye Brown has speculated that the Greens could make electoral reform a key part of the by-election.

On 14 May 2026, Howling Laud Hope declared his intention to stand in the by-election as the Monster Raving Loony candidate.

• 1965 Leyton by-election - by-election triggered to facilitate election of the then-Foreign Secretary to Parliament following defeat at the prior general election
• 1963 Kinross and Western Perthshire by-election - by-election contested and won by sitting Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home
• 2026 Aberdeen South by-election and 2026 Arbroath and Broughty Ferry by-election - forthcoming by-elections triggered by incumbent MP being ineligible to sit as both a Member of Parliament and Member of the Scottish Parliament, after their recent election to the latter
• 2026 Gorton and Denton by-election - by-election within the Greater Manchester area for which Burnham was blocked from being considered for Labour candidate selection
• 2026 United Kingdom government crisis
• 2018 Port Dickson by-election - by-election triggered in Malaysia to seat Anwar Ibrahim as Prime Minister
• List of United Kingdom by-elections (2010–present)