Should Andy Burnham be allowed to face as an MP? Take our ballot and have your say
Labour leadership hopeful Andy Burnham is making another attempt to return to parliament after an MP revealed he is standing down to let him compete in a by-election – and Mirror readers are having their say
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is launching a new bid to return to parliament (Image: Paul Ellis/AFP Pool Photo via AP)
Andy Burnham has announced he intends to stand as an MP in what could be first step towards seizing leadership of the Labour Party.
Josh Simons, MP for Makerfield, said he would stand down so Mr Burnham can “drive the change our country is crying out for” – triggering a by-election that would allow the Greater Manchester mayor to return to parliament after almost a decade away.
It’s understood that the Prime Minister will not seek to block Mr Burnham from becoming Labour’s candidate in the by-election – but the party’s National Executive Committee will need to approve him when it meets next week.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer live: Wes Streeting says Andy Burnham has ‘best chance’ of winning by-electionREAD MORE: ‘It’s going to be close’ – On the streets of Ashton-in-Makerfield as by-election announced
Polls show Burnham is a popular figure among Labour members – but the markets have already reacted nervously to the news of Burnham’s potential leadership challenge.
The cost of UK borrowing soared this morning, with 30-year UK government bonds, also known as gilts, rising 12 basis points to 5.774% in Friday morning trading – climbing close to 28-year highs reached earlier this week.
The pound also fell to $1.335, its lowest against the dollar in over a month, and is down almost 2% against the dollar this week alone.
Amid the swirling speculation, Keir Starmer’s position remains unchanged from what he told his cabinet earlier this week – he will not be standing down unless he loses a leadership election, and aims to “get on with governing” as the nation deals with the global fallout from the Iran war.
Key Starmer ally and Work and Pensions secretary Pat McFadden has said he will campaign for a Labour victory in the Makerfield by-election, regardless of who stands – but warned that there was a “political risk” in the Greater Manchester Mayor triggering two “unnecessary” elections.
He told LBC last night: “Whoever is the candidate, whether it’s Andy or another person, I’m a Labour man. I’ve been a Labour man all my life. I will be there campaigning for a Labour victory in that seat. Wherever there’s an election—council election, by-election—I want Labour to win. That will be the case here, too.”
“We’ve had good conversations about that. The only thing I would say is that doing it in this route through an unnecessary by-election is always a risky prospect. History shows us that, and we mustn’t be complacent about the voters here because, in the end, the people who will decide who the next MP for Makerfield is will be the voters in that constituency.”
