"Andy Burnham now has a route back to parliament after a Greater Manchester MP announced he would stand down, triggering a byelection, and putting Burnham in contention to become the next Labour leader. The Greater Manchester mayor has been seeking to return to parliament for months, but was blocked by Keir Starmer from running in the Gorton and Denton byelection at the start this year, to the anger of his supporters inside the party."
"The decision by Josh Simons, the MP for Makerfield, which Labour holds with a majority of just over 5,000, paves the way for Burnham to be selected by Labour's ruling national executive committee, which prevented him last time. The prime minister's authority has been critically undermined in recent days after an angry response from Labour MPs to last week's local and devolved elections, including the resignation of the health secretary, Wes Streeting, and around 100 MPs calling for him to go."
"Sources close to Starmer have suggested he may no longer be in a position to block Burnham's return, even if it meant a leadership contest at some point before the next general election, as MPs from right across the party would respond furiously if he did so. One senior Burnham backer told the Guardian: If you've got people from Angela [Rayner] to Wes saying it, then the whole party is now in the same place on this. Andy needs to be given a shot. He is the person that connects best with the public. It would be foolish to try to block him again."
A Greater Manchester mayor is positioned to return to Parliament after a Labour MP announced he would stand down, triggering a byelection. The mayor had sought a route back for months but was previously blocked from running in an earlier byelection. The new vacancy in a Labour-held seat with a relatively small majority creates an opening for the mayor to be selected by Labour’s national executive committee, which had blocked him previously. Prime Minister authority has weakened after Labour MPs reacted angrily to recent local and devolved election results, including a health secretary resignation and calls for the prime minister to go. Sources suggest the prime minister may no longer be able to block the mayor’s return, even if it leads to a leadership contest.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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