It’s no secret that we’re in for a huge by-election in our region pretty soon, and it’s rare for all eyes to be on a locality such as Makerfield in Wigan, Greater Manchester. But now, the Makerfield by-election is setting the scene for the near future of the UK Government, and whether you’re voting or not, you may want to understand a bit more about it and why it makes such a difference this time.
With this in mind, we’ve created a guide to help bring all the relevant information together, and make things as clear as possible – because things tend to get pretty murky and convoluted in these situations.
Where is Makerfield & which areas does it include?
Makerfield is a constituency in Wigan, Greater Manchester. It encompasses an area bookended by Hindley Green in the east, Longshaw Common in the west, Ashton-in-Makerfield to the south, and Poolstock in the north, with the addition of a peninsula including Orrell, Upholland and up to Gathurst.
The official wards are as follows:
- Abram
- Ashton‑in‑Makerfield South
- Bryn with Ashton‑in‑Makerfield North
- Golborne & Lowton West
- Hindley
- Hindley Green
- Ince
- Leigh West
- Orrell
- Winstanley
- Worsley Mesnes
What is the population of Makerfield?
According to Baseview, the population of Makerfield was just shy of 104,000 in June 2022.
Why is Makerfield having a by-election?
In May, the existing Labour MP for Makerfield Josh Simons resigned, making space for a replacement. That means a by-election is pending, in which candidates put forward by 14 political parties will compete for votes from residents of the Makerfield constituency.
When is the Makerfield by-election?
It has been announced that the Makerfield by-election will take place on Thursday 18 June, 2026.
Why does the Makerfield by-election matter to the wider UK?
The reason why the whole country has been getting involved with the Makerfield by-election is that it could have a significant effect on how the UK Government operates. The focus here is on our Mayor, Andy Burnham, who is running in the by-election to get back into parliament after a hiatus running the day-to-day of Greater Manchester.
Andy Burnham has made it clear that this run is not only to make an impact for the better on Makerfield and its people, but to be able to then run for Labour leader, and in turn Prime Minister.
Current Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer suffered seismic defeats across the country in the recent council elections, with Labour losing 1,496 seats, leading to questions surrounding his leadership.
The Labour Party has not yet mounted a motion of no confidence against Starmer, but it is likely that if Andy Burnham was to win the Makerfield by-election, there would be movements to do so. Labour requires 20% of its parliamentary party to demand new leadership in order to begin a leadership contest.
Keir Starmer would be given the option to either resign, or stand up to the challenge if he feels he could win over his party once again. Andy Burnham, as an officially reinstated MP, would then be seen as one of the favourites to replace Keir Starmer as Prime Minister – but this is all circumstantial, of course.
Does Andy Burnham have to resign as Mayor of Greater Manchester to run for MP?
According to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the Mayor of a Strategic Authority – as exists in Greater Manchester – may stand as a candidate in a Parliamentary election and be elected as an MP.
There is no legal requirement for the Mayor of a Strategic Authority to resign in order to be a candidate in a Parliamentary election.
The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 states that a Mayor who also has Police and Crime Commissioner functions is disqualified from being a Police and Crime Commissioner upon being elected as a member of the House of Commons.
As the Mayor of Greater Manchester has the Police and Crime Commissioner functions, they would if elected as an MP – become disqualified from being Mayor. So, Andy Burnham would only cease to be Mayor of Greater Manchester if elected as MP for Makerfield – not whilst running beforehand.
At this point a vacancy would arise and a Mayoral by-election would take place within 35 working days.
Makerfield voting history
The Makerfield area (made up of many constituencies, separate from the Makerfield constituency in parliamentary terms) voted heavily for Reform in the most recent council elections.
In contrast, the last general election saw Labour win 45.2% of the vote in Makerfield.
What do the latest polls say?
In a Survation poll of the Makerfield constituency published on Thursday 4 June, fieldwork was conducted by telephone among 518 adults in the constituency between May 26 and June 1, 2026. A combination of landline and mobile data were used to create a poll of voting intention for the Makerfield by-election.
The poll shows Labour’s Andy Burnham in the top spot, followed closely by Robert Kenyon of Reform UK. Candidates for Restore Britain, the Green Party, Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives all appear in the polling.
Makerfield by-election candidates
The following candidates will be running in the Makerfield by-election:
- Jake Austin — Liberal Democrats
- Count Binface — Count Binface Party
- Andy Burnham — Labour and Co‑operative Party
- Dan Clarke — Libertarian Party
- John Dyer — Independent
- Ed Gemmell — Climate Party
- Paul Gould — Independent
- Howling Laud Hope — The Official Monster Raving Loony Party
- Rob Kenyon — Reform UK
- Rob Pownall — Independent
- Rebecca Shepherd — Restore Britain
- Sarah Wakefield — Green Party
- Peter Ward — Rejoin EU
- Michael Winstanley — Conservative and Unionist Party
You can read more about each candidate here.
How can I vote in the Makerfield by-election?
The deadline to register to vote has now passed.
If you’re registered and have valid voter ID, you can vote in person at your designated polling station – you can find yours here.
You will only need to show one form of photo ID. It needs to be the original version and not a photocopy.
If you have a form of accepted photo ID which is out of date, you can still use it to vote at a polling station if it still looks like you.
Valid voter ID includes:
- Passport issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, a British Overseas Territory, an EEA state or a Commonwealth country
- Driving licence issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or an EEA state (this includes a provisional driving licence)
- A Blue Badge
- Older Person’s Bus Pass
- Disabled Person’s Bus Pass
- Oyster 60+ Card
- Freedom Pass
- Scottish National Entitlement Card
- 60 and Over Welsh Concessionary Travel Card
- Disabled Person’s Welsh Concessionary Travel Card
- Senior SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
- Registered Blind SmartPass or Blind Person’s SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
- War Disablement SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
- 60+ SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
- Half Fare SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland.
- Identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a PASS card).
- Biometric immigration document
- Ministry of Defence Form 90 (Defence Identity Card)
- National identity card issued by an EEA state
- Electoral Identity Card issued in Northern Ireland
- Voter Authority Certificate
- Anonymous Elector’s Document.
- Voter Authority Certificate (if you don’t have an accepted form of photo ID)
You can vote any time between 7am and 10pm on Thursday 18 June, 2026.
