Burnham launches bid for No 10

Andy Burnham has made his opening move to replace Sir Keir Starmer within weeks by launching a campaign to return to Westminster.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester announced his intention to run in a by-election for the Makerfield seat on Thursday, after Josh Simons, a scandal-hit Labour MP, said he would resign to make way.

Mr Burnham’s gambit came just hours after Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary decrying the “vacuum” and lack of “vision” of Sir Keir’s leadership and demanding the Prime Minister set a timetable for his departure.

On Thursday night, Sir Keir appointed James Murray, the chief secretary to the Treasury, to replace Mr Streeting as Health Secretary.

The Telegraph understands that Mr Burnham will not be blocked as the Labour candidate by the party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC), as he was in January when he attempted to return to Parliament in the Gorton and Denton by-election.

However, Reform UK has surged in popularity in Makerfield, a north-west constituency, and Nigel Farage pledged to “throw absolutely everything” at the race

Announcing he would be requesting permission from the NEC to run in the by-election, Mr Burnham made a coded reference to his leadership ambitions, saying that he hoped to “change Labour for the better” and “make it a party you can believe in again”.

He pledged to deploy his own brand of Labour politics, dubbed “Manchesterism”, countrywide.

Mr Burnham added: “There is only so much that can be done from Greater Manchester. Much bigger change is needed at a national level if everyday life is to be made more affordable again. This is why I now seek people’s support to return to Parliament: to bring the change we have brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and make politics work properly for people.”

Sterling dropped by half a percent against the dollar to $1.34 as investors reacted to the news. Earlier in the day, the pound had been trading at $1.35.

Mr Burnham is widely regarded as the Labour leadership contender most likely to unnerve financial markets. Earlier this year, he said that the UK was too “in hock to the bond markets”, comments that alarmed investors.

A by-election could be held in Makerfield, which is close to Mr Burnham’s home, by mid-June at the earliest, paving the way for a summer leadership challenge against Sir Keir.

Mr Simons, who served in junior ministerial roles in the Cabinet Office, and the department of technology, was forced to resign in March over his involvement in an alleged smear campaign against journalists.

He had been the director of the Labour Together think tank in 2023 when it paid a public affairs firm to investigate the “backgrounds and motivations” of journalists researching the sources of its funding.

Announcing his decision to leave Parliament, he said on Thursday he was “standing aside so that Andy Burnham can return to his home, fight to re-enter Parliament, and if elected, drive the change our country is crying out for”.

[Source: Daily Telegraph]