Voters are going to the polls for two by-elections on Scotland's east coast.

The contests in Aberdeen South and the Arbroath and Broughty Ferry constituency were triggered following the election of local SNP MPs Stephen Flynn and Stephen Gethins to Holyrood last month, News.Az reports, citing BBC.

The votes coincide with the Makerfield by-election in Greater Manchester.

Polls are open from 07:00 to 22:00 with results expected to be announced in the early hours of Friday.

Flynn and Gethins, who won Aberdeen South and Arbroath and Broughty Ferry respectively for the SNP at the 2024 general election, had to resign their seats to take up a place at Holyrood.

**16:50

So how quickly could Andy Burnham replace Keir Starmer, if Burnham wins Thursday’s Makerfield byelection? Actually, quite quickly, but only if events go in a particular way. And there are plenty of alternate outcomes.

The Labour party rulebook sets out that if an MP wants to challenge a sitting party leader, they must first be nominated by at least 20% of the parliamentary party (currently 81 MPs), as well as by at least 5% of all local branches or at least three party-affiliated groups, of which a minimum of two must be unions, News.Az reports, citing The Guardian.

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Any contenders who meet the threshold go forward to a vote of party members, assuming there is more than one challenger.

It also says that if a sitting leader is challenged, they do not need to meet these requirements and are automatically in the members’ vote – if they choose to do so.

There is a scenario in which Burnham is elected as Makerfield’s MP, Starmer decides he will step down immediately – perhaps after a mass of senior cabinet ministers tell him they will resign if he does not – and no other challengers come forward.

**14:46

The northern English area of Makerfield votes on Thursday in a local election ​that could return Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to parliament, paving the way for him to launch a bid ‌to take over as prime minister.

The election, triggered by a party colleague resigning his seat, has brought unusual attention to the former coal mining area near Manchester as its result will determine the shape of an inevitable challenge to the deeply unpopular Keir Starmer, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

If Burnham defeats the candidate for Reform UK, Brexit advocate Nigel Farage's ​populist party, his victory will fire the starting gun on a race to replace Starmer as leader of the Labour ​Party, a contest that could give Britain its seventh prime minister in just over a decade. Starmer ⁠himself has pledged to fight on.

**10:46

Labour veteran and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is aiming to win a parliamentary by-election as a step toward potentially challenging Keir Starmer for the prime ministership.

Pollsters expect Burnham to win the historic contest to represent the Makerfield constituency in northwest England, but he faces a tough fight from the hard-right Reform UK party, News.Az reports, citing TRT World.

"Almost undoubtedly it's in the hands of the voters of Makerfield as to whether or not Burnham becomes prime minister," political scientist John Curtice said.

"If Burnham does win, his path to 10 Downing Street looks to be relatively assured. If they deny him the opportunity, it may be that Starmer will survive, at least for the time being," he told AFP.

Starmer, in power since July 2024, has been clinging to power by his fingernails since Labour suffered a drubbing in local and regional elections last month.

He has been rocked by several policy U-turns and a scandal over his appointment of ex-Jeffrey Epstein associate Peter Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to Washington.

The 63-year-old prime minister has endured several ministerial resignations and rock-bottom personal poll ratings, with Reform leading national surveys for over a year.

But Starmer, an ex-lawyer who has refused to quit, insists his landslide election victory over the Conservatives 21 months ago gives him a five-year mandate to govern.

**10:10

More than 30 polling stations across the parliamentary constituency will open at 07:00 BST and close at 22:00, after which the count will take place. The result is expected early on Friday, News.Az reports, citing the BBC.

There are 14 candidates standing in the by-election, which was triggered by the resignation of Labour MP Josh Simons.

It is one of three Westminster by-elections taking place, with voters in the Scottish constituencies of Arbroath and Broughty Ferry and Aberdeen South also heading to the polls after their MPs stood down to take up posts as MSPs following May's Holyrood elections.

**09:40

Voters in Britain are casting ballots on Thursday in three closely watched parliamentary by-elections that may serve as a key test for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government.

News.Az