NO more messing about — read the room and get out, the labour movement told Sir Keir Starmer today after Andy Burnham’s victory in the Makerfield by-election.

Mr Burnham will now call for the Prime Minister to quit in the wake of his larger than expected majority in the poll, seeing off hard-right Reform by more than 20 per cent of the vote.

Trade union leaders and Labour MPs united in demanding that Sir Keir depart in the near future, opening the way for Mr Burnham to take over.

Celebrating his victory, the Greater Manchester mayor had billed it as Labour’s “final chance to change” and pledged a “new path” for Britain.

“There will be no second chance, but it is a chance now, to build a new politics based on unity and hope, turning away from the path that takes us to a divided politics of the kind we’ve seen in the United States,” Mr Burnham said in his victory speech at the count.

And in a speech in his new constituency today, Mr Burnham fleshed out his programme for government, focusing on reindustrialisation and tackling the cost of living.

He said: “We need to bring down water bills, energy bills, rail fares, just as we brought down bus fares in Greater Manchester to make life more affordable for people.

“We do need an end to trickle-down economics which didn’t trickle down very much at all to places like this. We want to see a new drive towards reindustrialisation across the north of England and the rest of the country.”

Mr Burnham won 24,927 votes or 55 per cent of the poll, more than Labour secured in the 2024 general election, against 35 per cent for Reform and 7 per cent for the even further right Restore.

Tories, Greens and Liberal Democrats secured just 3 per cent between them. It represents a strong personal mandate for Mr Burnham, far ahead of Labour’s national polling.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “There now needs to be an orderly timetable for a leadership election and Keir Starmer must do the right thing and step down. 

“The inevitable leadership election must be fought on real change and policies, not personalities.”

Labour MP for York Outer Luke Charters urged Sir Keir to “take heed of what was an absolutely seismic and colossal message here.”

He should “really quickly reflect on and read the room here on what’s happening in Makerfield,” Mr Charters said.

Hemsworth MP Jon Trickett said: “It’s clear that Farage and his hard-right acolytes can be defeated. However, there can be no more messing about.

“Keir Starmer has to immediately state a timetable for his departure as leader, as he is an obstacle to defeating Farage at the next general election.”

Brent East MP Dawn Butler said: “People have told us they want to see a Labour government, but they want to see a change of direction and that isn’t coming from our current prime minister.

“We need to make that change for the country and we need to do it for the country.”

Alex Sobel, Leeds Central MP, joined the clamour, saying: “Andy Burnham has proven his credentials in putting forward a Labour vision voters can rally around.

“The Prime Minister must think about what is best for the country and that is now clearly for an orderly transition of power to allow Labour members to elect a new leader.”

TSSA general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said: “Andy Burnham’s victory is a mandate for a change in direction right at the top of the Labour Party.

“The electorate rejected the poison of the far right and backed a candidate strongly supported by the Labour movement. The party leadership must recognise the lessons from this result. 

“Time is running short, and a change of direction at the very top is needed if Labour is to rebuild trust and have any realistic prospect of success at the next general election.”

And Fire Brigades Union general secretary Steve Wright hailed “a victory for the labour movement, which staged a mass ground campaign in Makerfield involving trade unions like the FBU.

“Keir Starmer has continued with the disastrous Tory approach of trying to cut our way to a better future that has so badly let down working-class people for over 15 years. 

“Andy now has a mandate to take on Farage and break with austerity by embracing policies to tax the super-rich to properly fund public services and pay workers.

“It’s critical that the Labour Party urgently adopts that change in direction.”

Even centrist MPs were calling for Sir Keir to get out of the way. Southport’s Patrick Hurley said: “We need a transition to something new. We can’t continue to tell the electorate that they’re wrong.”

And the Prime Minister’s former political director Luke Sullivan said: “This result, the scale of it, has changed all possible paths for survival for the Prime Minister.”

Sir Keir still had his fingers firmly in his ears today, however, saying: “If there is a contest, then I will stand. I am not going to walk away from that.”

A crestfallen Nigel Farage, who had banked on a win in Makerfield, where his party swept the board in May’s local elections, acknowledged the result was disappointing and urged those who backed Rupert Lowe’s Restore to switch to Reform.

Mr Burnham’s camp had worried that the vote for the two far-right parties combined might have exceeded his own, but in the end they fell far short.

His result benefited from a consolidation of the vote from the Liberal Democrats leftwards around Labour, while the Tory vote seemed to have rallied to Reform, a polarisation which Labour would like to reproduce at the next general election.

The Green Party, which ran a low-key campaign in Makerfield, welcomed “the defeat of Reform’s divisive and misogynist campaign” while Communist Party general secretary Alex Gordon said the labour movement should now “sweep out Starmer and fight for socialism in our lifetime.”

Ministers are now expected to spend the weekend discussing how to prise Sir Keir from Downing Street. 

Former health secretary Wes Streeting has pledged to trigger a contest if the PM does not quit voluntarily, while recently resigned armed forces minister Al Carns is also weighing up a challenge.