Makerfield

Makerfield is a UK parliamentary constituency in Greater Manchester, covering the towns of Wigan, Leigh, and Ince. The seat was redrawn in the 2023 boundary review and includes former mining and manufacturing communities with a strong Labour tradition. Labour has held the seat or its predecessors continuously since 1935. At the 2024 general election, Labour's Josh Simons won with a majority of approximately 8,400 on a reduced swing.

On 12 May 2026, Simons resigned the Makerfield seat in order to allow Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to seek the nomination for the resulting by-election. The move was described as a planned transition agreed between Simons and Burnham, intended to give Burnham a Westminster route at a moment when the Labour leadership crisis made his national profile particularly significant. However, the NEC voted 8-1 on 11 May to block Burnham from the approved candidates list before Simons had formally submitted his resignation — a sequence that created constitutional controversy over whether the block was legally valid.

Makerfield thus became the focal point of the Labour leadership crisis in May 2026. The constituency's by-election — date not yet confirmed as of 14 May — will be the first major test of Labour's ability to mobilise its grassroots base in a context of acute central party dysfunction. Burnham has stated he intends to contest the seat; the NEC block is under legal review.