The Rest Is Politics

Podbit · The Rest Is Politics

545. Burnham Beats Reform: Britain’s Next Prime Minister?

Explore episode Jun 19, 2026

Where this was said

The Exam Question: Who Can Stop Reform?

At 9:50 · chapter starts 7:10

Alastair Campbell zeros in on the number that will animate every Labour MP's thinking: a 23% swing from Reform to Labour in the seats Reform had taken just weeks earlier. He credits Peter Kellner for the detail that Makerfield had the sixth-highest Reform vote in the country at the last general election, making the win still more remarkable. The key question — who can stop Reform — appears, for now, to have an answer. Campbell reports that as late as Wednesday Keir Starmer was telling MPs he would fight any challenge, but the by-election has transformed the arithmetic overnight. Burnham's acceptance speech contained a coded message — 'we'll get no second chance' — and all the Makerfield billboards said 'Andy', not 'Labour'. Campbell, having spoken to key insiders, believes Burnham could be Prime Minister by conference in late September.

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