Andy Burnham faces decision on bid to return as MP

Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is under pressure to decide whether to return to Westminster after an MP announced he was standing down, triggering a by-election.

Former Labor Secretary Andrew Gwynne said he resigned from his position as MP for Greater Manchester after suffering “serious health problems” and his GP advising him not to return to work.

This paves the way for Burnham to contest a by-election in her constituency and potentially enter a leadership fight against Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer if she becomes an MP.

The BBC has been told that some of Sir Keir’s supporters on Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) will try to prevent Burnham from standing.

Burnham doesn’t have to decide immediately whether she wants to throw her hat in the ring, as Gwynne has yet to officially resign her seat, but she will likely face increasing questions about whether she’ll agree to do so.

If he decides to stand for election, he will likely face competition from other Labor figures and former MPs eyeing the seat.

As an incumbent mayor, he will also face the additional challenge of needing approval from the NEC under Labor rules.

Several Labor sources said they expected the committee to object if Burnham stood for Parliament on the grounds that it would trigger a Greater Manchester mayoral election because the party’s funds are exhausted and it is seen as politically risky.

It is also possible that the NEC will insist on an all-female shortlist of possible Labor candidates for the by-election because the majority of the party’s MPs are currently male.

But if the NEC prevents Burnham from standing, her allies among Labor MPs could force party officials to overturn the decision.

Health Minister Stephen Kinnock told BBC Breakfast that Burnham was “an incredibly capable and effective leader as Mayor of Greater Manchester”.

He said candidate selection “will be like any other election process” and that “rules and procedures will be determined in due course.”

Burnham has not yet commented on whether he will apply to be Labor’s candidate in the upcoming by-elections in Gorton and Denton.

Speaking on Thursday, he said people “should not jump to conclusions” and insisted he was “very focused on my role as mayor”, while not ruling out an attempt to return to Westminster.

Sir Keir did not comment on whether Burnham would run, saying the NEC would determine the process for selecting candidates and adding that the mayor had “done an excellent job” in Manchester.

A well-placed source suggested that blocking Burnham would not cause political trouble, but the risk of a leadership race would be even worse.

If Labor’s candidate is elected, he will still need to win the by-election in Gorton and Denton at a time when the party’s popularity is low; but recent polls suggest Labor may retain the seat.

Gwynne won the 2024 general election by 18,000 votes. The Reform UK candidate came second with 5,000 votes, just ahead of the Greens who received 4,810 votes.

Burnham caused an uproar ahead of Labor’s conference last year when she said many Labor MPs were urging her to return to the House of Commons and challenge Sir Keir for power.

Burnham, a former cabinet minister who twice unsuccessfully stood for the Labor leadership, has not previously denied she could challenge Sir Keir, saying: “I’m not going to rule out what may or may not happen in the future.”

UK Reform Leader Nigel Farage said: “This by-election is by no means a sure thing for Labour, the left-wing greens will split their vote and we will be the challengers. We will give it our all.”

Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokeswoman Lisa Smart said: “People in Gorton and Denton and across the country deserve so much better than this endless soap opera.

A spokesman for the Green Party said they were “prepared and ready to go for any future by-elections”.

“We were dead serious when we said we weren’t here to disappoint the Labor Party, we were here to replace them.”

There is speculation that Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, could become a candidate.

Although Polanski has roots in Manchester, he has been living in London for several years, making it unlikely that he will ever hang his hat in the ring.