Makerfield by-election result live: Burnham faces anxious wait for path back to No10 as vote count continues

Andy Burnham has arrived at the count centre in Wigan as results are expected within the hour.

The mayor of Greater Manchester walked into the hall to applause and cheering, and was asked by media if his next stop was Downing Street.

Rupert Lowe has been speaking to members of the media in Wigan as votes are counted in the Makerfield by-election.

The Restore UK leader said he believed his party’s candidate, Rebecca Shepherd, has done “extremely well”,

Ms Shepherd is yet to be seen at the count, and has not done any media interviews during her campaign.

Mr Lowe said he believed his party would “comfortably outdo” their predicted vote share, and told Sky News: “I think it’s time we were on the national polls as a proper party.”

The Scottish Conservatives have claimed victory in the Aberdeen South by-election, taking the seat from the SNP.

Scottish Tory MSP Douglas Lumsden said the people of the city had spoken “loud and clear” that the “destruction of the North Sea oil and has industry must stop now”.

Kemi Badenoch will be looking to capitalise on the win, which is only the fifth time this century the party has gained a seat at a Westminster by-election.

A Reform source at the Makerfield count said it was “way too early and too close to call”.

He said canvassing had been “really positive”, but they would have a better idea of how the party had done after the verification process was complete.

Labour are growing more confident as counting gets underway in the Makerfield by-election.

Earlier, Labour sources said the contest would be a “close call”, but now sound more positive.

Cabinet minister Lisa Nandy, who is at the count, told Sky News she was feeling “cautiously optimistic” ahead of the result.

The turnout in Makerfield has been confirmed as 58.75 per cent.

Unusually for a by-election, this is even higher than the turnout in the constituency at the 2024 general election, which was 52.5 per cent.

It implies the voters of Makerfield are aware their votes are crucial, not just for their constituency, but for the country at large.

Counting is well underway in Wigan as we await the results of the crucial by-election in Makerfield.

There seemed to almost as many journalists as locals in the town tonight, where media from across the country – and the world – have descended.

The high level of interest in unsurprising, given what’s at stake.

Displaying St George’s Cross has become a fraught and even painful decision, writes Sean O’Grady: