'People only voted for Burnham to get rid of the PM': Robert Jenrick plays down Reform’s defeat in Makerfield

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Speaking to Nick Ferrari on Friday morning following Burnham's by-election victory, the Reform MP said: “People in Makerfield wanted to get Starmer out.”

He argued that tactical voting had played a major part in the result, adding: “A lot of people who voted Reform chose to vote for Burnham because it was the best route to get rid of the PM.”

The Newark MP said Reform had fought hard for the seat, despite its history as a Labour stronghold.

“We threw a lot at this. Obviously we wanted to win. It was a seat that had been Labour since it was created,” he added.

The former Mayor of Manchester defeated Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon by 9,231 votes, up from 5,399 in 2024, and Labour’s vote share increased by 9.61%.

Read More: If Reform can’t win Makerfield, where can they win?

Read more: Makerfield by-election result: Key numbers and historical trends

In his victory speech he urged his party to act now, saying there would be no second chance.

He said: “Everyone knows that politics isn’t working.

“Everyone can feel that the country isn’t where it should be. Tonight could, just could, be the turning point.”

Asked whether the result suggested Reform had now “peaked”, Jenrick rejected that idea and again pointed to anti-Starmer voting.

He also played down the wider significance of the result for the next election, saying: “Does it change the outcome of the next general election I rather doubt that.”

Looking ahead, Jenrick argued Reform remains the dominant force on the right. “If you want to have real change… it is reform that is the main party of the centre right,” he said.

In an attempt at addressing the assertion that he was only seeking to become Makerfield’s MP to further his own ambitions, Mr Burnham said: “It will never be a stepping stone to me, but instead will be my touchstone.“

A Makerfield test at the heart of British politics will make sure that the places Westminster has neglected will now get fairness.”

Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage said he was “disappointed” with the party’s vote share in the Makerfield by-election and urged people who voted for rival party Restore Britain to “think again”.

In a video messaged published on social media, Mr Farage said Reform had been “hoist with our own petard” after claiming Labour adopted his party’s message of “get Starmer out” on the doorstep by asking voters to support Mr Burnham.

He also issued a plea to voters who backed Restore Britain in the by-election, a rival party to the right of Reform which has adopted a harder line on migration and other issues.

Mr Farage said: “As for the Reform vote share, well, I thought we would get 18,000 votes, we got just shy of 16,000 so I’m disappointed by that, no question about it.

“But I would say this: there’s a couple of thousand voters there who would normally have gone out and voted Reform that voted Restore, and I would say directly to them, what do you want?

“We are the challenger party to the left in this country, and I would urge you to think again. I really, really would.”