Prime minister suggests he will not ‘walk away’ despite Burnham’s comfortable victory in Makerfield byelection UK politics – live updates How quickly could Burnham become PM? Keir Starmer has said he will stand in a Labour leadership contest should one be triggered after Andy Burnham’s decisive victory in the Makerfield byelection , adding he will not “walk away”. He also warned that such a contest would “plunge us into chaos” and that Labour needed to “pull together” to contest the byelection to replace Burnham as the mayor of Greater Manchester.