Friday briefing: Andy Burnham wins Makerfield byelection to set up possible leadership bid

In today’s newsletter: The mayor of Manchester is set to return to Westminster after decisively beating Nigel Farage’s Reform

Good morning. Andy Burnham is heading back to the Commons after a resounding victory in Makerfield, putting Keir Starmer’s leadership on notice – and giving Reform something to think about. The – now to be former – mayor of Manchester described it as the “most consequential byelection of our lives”, that he promised would not only change the constituency, but the country. Already, he has touted his win as a “turning point”.

The coming days will tell us more about what happens in terms of his expected challenge to Starmer’s premiership. But his stunning win against Reform is already being unpacked by politicians and pollsters.

This morning I’m bringing you the latest from the count at the Edge conference centre in Wigan – and from Scotland, where two other byelection results were declared overnight.

Middle East | Talks set to take place on Friday between the ⁠United States ⁠and ​Iran on implementing the 14-point agreement to end their war have been cancelled, Switzerland’s foreign ministry has announced.

Brexit | Michel Barnier has said Britain could regain its special terms if it rejoined the EU and claimed it was becoming clearer every day to the British people that they would be stronger in Europe.

Ukraine | Ukrainian drones have hit several locations across Moscow in Kyiv’s biggest air raid on the city since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, setting a major ⁠oil refinery on fire and forcing evacuations at the country’s largest airport.

UK politics | The attorney general has told his office to no longer post on X, making it the first UK government department to stop using the Elon Musk-owned platform amid increasing worries about its use to incite violence and racism.

Environment | The environmental damage bill racked up by the highest-consuming 10% of the world’s population has reached up to $5.7tn a year – larger than the economy of every country except the US and China, a study has found.

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