Can Andy Burnham stand for the by-election and can Starmer stop him?
What Andy Burnham will need to do in order to stand for Labour in Greater Manchester vote
A by-election in the Makerfield constituency has been officially triggered, after Labour former minister Josh Simons resigned his seat, with Andy Burnham looking for a way back into the Commons.
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Restore Britain has announced its candidate for the vote, which is likely to be held on June 18, with other parties set to follow in the next few days.
Mr Simons stood down with the intention of allowing Mr Burnham back into the Commons to potentially challenge prime minister Sir Keir Starmer for party leadership.
It comes after more than 80 Labour MPs called on Sir Keir to resign on the back of a poor local election showing.
Mr Burnham, the Greater Manchester Mayor, was found by a poll to be the most popular among the key players in a potential Labour leadership race - ranking ahead of the recently departed health secretary Wes Streeting.
Will Andy Burnham be the Labour candidate for Makerfield
Yes, Labour’s ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), has permitted Mr Burnham to stand having blocked him from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election three months ago.
Can Sir Keir Starmer stop Andy Burnham from standing?
Not now the NEC has made its decision.
Sir Keir has pledged to support whichever Labour candidate is put forward. He said: “Whoever they are I am going to support them 100% and I want every member, everyone in our movement to support them. A Labour candidate to beat Reform. That is the fight that we are in.”
What if Burnham wins in Makerfield?
If he won the by-election, Mr Burnham would become MP for Makerfield and mark his first time in the Commons since 2017, when he resigned as MP for Leigh.
If he wanted to mount a leadership challenge to Sir Keir, he would need the support of 81 Labour MPs, 20% of their Commons make-up, to then enter a run-off with the prime minister. It is thought that he is likely to seek this.
Mr Burnham has been Greater Manchester Mayor since 2017 and won a third term in 2024, meaning he will not need to stand again for election until 2028.
It is possible he would step down if elected to Parliament, with some tipping Gary Neville to take over, however it is also true that he could have two jobs.
Boris Johnson was still Mayor of London when he reentered the Commons as a Conservative MP in 2015, and held the mayorship until the 2016 elections when he stepped down.
He later launched a full-fledged effort to become prime minister, which he did in 2019.