politics
Polls Close in Makerfield, Aberdeen South, and Arbroath and Broughty Ferry Byelections
Voters in three UK constituencies cast ballots on Thursday in contests that could reshape Labour leadership dynamics and test Reform UK’s momentum.
SK
The GuardianAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
Polls closed on Thursday in the Makerfield, Aberdeen South, and Arbroath and Broughty Ferry parliamentary byelections. Makerfield was created in the 1983 reorganisation of parliamentary boundaries and has about 70,000 voters. The byelection began on 14 May after MP Josh Simons announced he would stand down.
Constituency polls ahead of the Makerfield byelection gave Andy Burnham a lead of between 3 and 12 percentage points over Reform candidate Robert Kenyon. Reform increased its vote share by 18 percentage points compared with the previous general election. Restore Britain, which launched four months before the contest, is predicted to win about 7 percent of the vote.
Keir Starmer said on Wednesday he was willing to offer Burnham a "big" job in his government and described him as "a huge asset to our party and our movement". Burnham quit as mayor of Greater Manchester to contest the seat. The SNP has stated it is confident it will hold the Arbroath and Broughty Ferry seat.
In Aberdeen South, the contest has been dominated by the future of North Sea oil and gas, with the Conservatives hoping to wrest control from the Scottish National Party.
