BREAKING: Andy Burnham to QUIT as Mayor to run in bombshell by-election
The Greater Manchester mayor has finally confirmed plans to return to Westminster, following the announcement that the MP for Gorton and Denton Andrew Gwynne was standing down
Andy Burnham has set his sights on Westminster(Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)
Andy Burnham is set to quit as Greater Manchester mayor to run in a bombshell by-election.
The MP for Gorton and Denton Andrew Gwynne announced he was standing down this week a move that will trigger a by-election for the North West seat. Mr Gwynne was sacked as a minister and suspended from the Labour Party last year over offensive messages in a WhatsApp group named Trigger Me Timbers.
Mr Burnham has now finally ended the fevered speculation, with the former Cabinet minister confirming plans to run. His announcement will send shockwaves through the Labour party, amid constant rumours he plans to challenge Keir Starmer’s position.
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Earlier Sir Sadiq Khan said Mr Burnham must be allowed to stand to be an MP, adding he would be willing to campaign for the Greater Manchester mayor.
The Mayor of London told the Fabian Society conference in London: “I think if Andy Burnham wants to be a member of Parliament, Andy Burnham should be allowed to be a member of Parliament.
“I’m a firm believer in the best team having all the talent playing for them, and if Andy wants to return to Parliament, I will try and make some time between now and the by-election to knock on some doors for him, or whoever the candidate is.”
Reports had suggested that supporters of the Prime Minister on the NEC may seek to block his candidacy, either out of fear it would destabilise the PM or to prevent another by-election for the Greater Manchester mayoralty.
Labour’s deputy leader also warned against blocking Mr Burnham, saying the decision should be left to local members. Also speaking at the conference in London, she said: “This is maybe the most consequential by-election of this parliament and in that context I would want to see the very best candidate, the person that can most help Labour win in that very difficult by-election, able to come forward and help us win.
“I’ve been saying openly and publicly over the last few weeks that people have got to get behind in Keir Starmer, he’s the leader of the Labour party. We are one Labour team, and I don’t want to see this by-election or any other situation emerge into more kind of infighting and talking about ourselves.
“To take the football analogy, I want to make sure that we’re putting out the best team on the pitch, week after week, so we can win those important matches. I don’t want to see Haaland on the bench because there’s been some falling out. But I’m also going to get behind Pep Guardiola as our manager and make sure that we win matches, win those crucial matches, and go on to win the league. I think we can do that.”
Also on Saturday, Wes Streeting called for a change in “culture” as he criticised anonymous briefings against Mr Burnham. He said: “In the last day or so, without having even indicated whether he wants to run, there’s been some pretty unkind things said about Andy, as usual by people who don’t want to put their names on this sort of briefing. And that’s a disgraceful way to treat someone who is a Labour mayor, part of our team and part of our movement. So, I hope we will see not just the process concluding, but also a better culture in the process too.”
Speculation had mounted for years that Mr Burnham craved a Westminster return, with the speculation reaching fever pitch after Andrew Gwynne announced he would resign as an MP on health grounds on Thursday.
However, some MPs expressed concerns Mr Burnham stepping down as mayor could see Manchester fall into Reform hands. It comes with the latest More in Common polling predicting Reform doing better in Greater Manchester than Labour. The MP said: “Andy has done a great job as Mayor of Greater Manchester but I’m worried that his work would be undone if Reform won a Mayoral by-election. Given Labour’s tough polling position, we’d be very likely to lose Greater Manchester to Reform, and I don’t think we should be willing to take that risk.”
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