While an election count normally feels like an ending, the culmination of long campaign, in Makerfield the declaration of Andy Burnham as the constituency’s new MP felt like just the beginning.

In the days and weeks leading up to polling day, all talk was of whether Burnham could beat Reform, in this seat where Labour had lost every single vote they were contesting in the council elections just weeks ago.

As Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain grew in prominence, there was also talk that they would help Burnham to steal a victory, by splitting votes on the right.

But in the end, it wasn’t even close.

As Thursday night rolled into Friday morning, the mood in the Labour camp was clearly positive. A turnout of more than 58% – significantly higher than the general election figure – boded well for Burnham. Culture secretary Lisa Nandy said when the polls closed that she was “cautiously optimistic”, but by 1am she could say “I’m optimistic that Andy may have pulled off what may be an historic win here”.

“I hope that we can find a way to pull together and turn our gaze out to the country,” she said, when asked about what happens next for Labour. “I think it would be a tragedy if we were to descend into infighting and turn the conversation to ourselves.

“We need him to be part of the Labour team and heard at the highest levels of government, that is certainly the case.”

By around 1.30am Reform had apparently conceded defeat behind the scenes with a cordial handshake. Burnham arrived in the counting hall just under an hour later, to loud applause from his supporters.

The 14 candidates lined the stage for the declaration – with Burnham standing in the centre, between Count Binface and an independent dressed as a fox – and cheers erupted from the Labour camp as the result was announced around 3am.

The Manchester mayor won more than 50% of the vote, and secured 6,100 more votes than both Reform and Restore combined.

As well as winning votes back from Reform, Burnham’s success came in huge part from his appeal to progressive voters, with the Lib Dems and Greens left somewhat dejected after winning fewer than 500 votes between them.

“This is a final chance to change,” Burnham said of Labour, his victory speech slightly delayed by unplanned interventions on the microphone from two independent candidates, including the fox.

“This is what people said directly to me on the hundreds of doorsteps that I stood on,” he added. “We must hear it, we must act upon it and we must get it right. There will be no second chance.”

And Burnham struggled to contain a smile as he promised “to build a new politics based on unity and hope”, a remark the Monster Raving Loony party candidate Howling Laud Hope echoed with: “Hope! Hope! Hope!”

Throughout the campaign, Burnham had faced criticism that he was using Makerfield as a route to further his ambition, but he addressed the critics head-on in his speech, saying he was using the constituency as a “touchstone, not a stepping stone”.

He said people in Makerfield, and places like it, felt neglected, and lacking in the same opportunities felt by those in other parts of the country.

“That changes tonight,” Burnham said. “This result changes that. This result will bring about a country that works fairly for everywhere and for everybody.

“People here have voted for change. They have voted for more power for the north and everywhere forgotten by Westminster.”

Yet despite Labour winning a decisive victory of the kind that is lesser seen in current times, there were no wild celebrations; there was no talk of champagne corks popping at all-night parties. And from Burnham himself, it was shy smiles, rather than wide grins.

As soon as he left the stage, Burnham and his entourage slipped out of the back door, presumably to get a few hours sleep ahead of his next, much bigger challenge – to attempt to win the keys to 10 Downing Street.

But perhaps Makerfield’s new MP was not heading home immediately – as he got into a car with his his wife and daughter, Burnham said he was going for a “pint”.