Andy Burnham’s by-election looms – could he be next PM?

Pinned Update May 14, 2026 1:18 pmKey points from Streeting’s bombshell resignation letter Streeting unleashed a wave of criticisms on the PM (Picture: James Manning/PA Wire) Streeting began his letter by celebrating falling NHS waiting list figures and his other successes as Health Secretary He said there was ‘no doubt the unpopularity of this Government was a major’ factor in the devastating local election results last week Streeting said Starmer’s do-or-die speech on Monday proved there was ‘drift’ not direction in government He accused the Prime Minister of letter other people fall on their swords instead of Sir Keir taking responsibility himself The former Health Secretary called on Starmer to ‘listen to your colleagues’ over his ‘heavy-handed approach to dissenting voices’. He ended his letter by saying it was clear Sir Keir ‘will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election’. He called for a ‘broad’ leadership contest with the ‘best field of candidates’, and asked the PM ‘to facilitate this’. May 15, 2026 7:53 amWho is Andy Burnham? Is three times the charm for Andy Burnham? Burnham, the son of a telephone engineer and a receptionist, has been a member of the Labour Party since he was 15. He sat as an MP for Leigh in Greater Manchester from 2001 until 2017, when he was elected Mayor of Greater Manchester. Curbing homelessness, revitalising the region’s public transport and investigating child exploitation in Manchester and Rochdale have been among his focuses. He’s attempted to become leader of the party twice: he lost to Ed Miliband in 2010 and Jeremy Corbyn in 2015. He lives in Warrington with his wife, Marie-France van Heel (who is Dutch), his son and two daughters. You can read more about Burnham below: May 15, 2026 1:57 amMetro’s take on another crazy day in Westminster And breathe… Catch you again for more political action later on Friday morning. May 14, 2026 11:59 pmWho is James Murray – the new Health Secretary? Starmer loyalist James Murray has served as MP for Ealing North since the 2019 general election. Before entering Parliament, Murray built his political career in local government. He was the leader of Ealing Council in west London from 2014 to 2018, where he focused on housing, regeneration and local services. His work there, particularly on tackling rough sleeping and delivering new homes, helped raise his profile within Labour. After being elected to Westminster, Murray quickly moved onto the opposition frontbench. He has warned that a leadership challenge would be damaging, saying a ‘leadership contest will be a wrong choice for the Labour Party’. ‘We’re all behind him’ May 14, 2026 10:03 pmLabour deputy to urge unity at FBU speech Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell will say Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner should all be seen as ‘key players’ in the party in a speech on Friday. ‘We don’t do hostile takeovers in Labour for a reason. ‘Keir is the leader, and I warned against bloody internal battles reflecting badly.’ Ms Powell will say: ‘We must come back together as one team to take the fight to (Reform UK leader Nigel) Farage and show that mainstream progressive politics can bring about the change people are crying out for. ‘That also means doing politics differently. ‘Ending briefing wars, ending factionalism, and representing all our traditions with our strongest team on the pitch – being one Labour team. ‘Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner should all be key players in our team.’ May 14, 2026 9:30 pmNew Health Secretary said he wanted no part in the drama just this morning To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video May 14, 2026 9:26 pmStreeting tells his replacement he inherits important NHS mission Wes Streeting congratulated new Health Secretary James Murray, who was appointed to the post after Mr Streeting resigned earlier on Thursday. Mr Streeting posted on X: ‘Congratulations to @jamesmurray_ldn on his promotion to Health & Social Care Secretary. ‘He inherits a wonderful team and an important mission. He has my full support.’ May 14, 2026 9:14 pmLondoners have their say on the Labour civil war To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video May 14, 2026 8:45 pmJames Murray becomes new Health Secretary James Murray MP has become the next Health Secretary after Wes Streeting’s resignation, moving over from the Treasury. May 14, 2026 8:37 pmLiverpool mayor backs Burnham’s move Steve Rotheram, the Liverpool City Region mayor, has backed his friend Burnham, with whom he has been close since the two previously served as MPs. Rotheram wrote in a lengthy X post, which we have become accustomed to seeing during the Labour turmoil from politicians: ‘Politics is crying out for leadership that feels grounded, authentic and rooted in people’s day to day lives rather than Westminster psychodrama. Andy has shown that kind of leadership in office. Labour shouldn’t be afraid of that contest. We should welcome it.’ May 14, 2026 8:15 pmWes Streeting ‘waiting’ for Burnham A Wes Streeting supporter told the BBC that the former health secretary ‘wants Andy to have a chance to declare his intentions’ before going ahead with a leadership challenge. To trigger a contest, any prospective challenger would need the backing of 20% of the party’s MPs – or 81 out of 403. May 14, 2026 8:08 pmMPs react to Andy Burnham’s announcement Here are some reactions tonight from across the political spectrum to the Andy Burnham announcement. The single biggest challenge facing the Labour movement is stopping Nigel Farage becoming Prime Minister.Labour’s NEC must allow Andy Burnham to stand in Makerfield.Blocking him again would weaken Labour even further in the polls – and we may never recover.— Richard Burgon MP (@RichardBurgon) May 14, 2026 The brass neck of Andy Burnham and the Labour Party is off the scale.They’ve got 411 MPs on the payroll yet apparently not one of them is fit to lead the country. So their big idea is to parachute him back in, triggering a mayoral by-election and a parliamentary by-election for…— Darren Grimes (@darrengrimes) May 14, 2026 The arrogance of standing down so that Andy Burnham can enjoy a “coronation”.Josh Simons leaves Parliament after just two years with his tail between his legs after the Labour Together scandal.Zero guarantee that Labour could even win a by-election after all the wards in… https://t.co/29OdfDBeKD pic.twitter.com/pKbCeV0tvQ— Ben Obese-Jecty MP (@BenObeseJecty) May 14, 2026 May 14, 2026 7:39 pmFarage defends undeclared £5million donation May 14, 2026 7:19 pmZack Polanski has his say on Labour turmoil Andy Burnham needs to make clear if he will be break away from ‘terrible orthodoxies’ of the past Green Party leader Zack Polanski has said. The Green leader said: ‘Last week’s elections shows the country is crying out for a break from the failed status quo. ‘Is it the politician who has been part and parcel of the Labour establishment for decades, abstaining on legislation making brutal cuts to welfare, PFI and other Labour privatisations, or is it the one who has publicly supported proportional representation, been a popular mayor in Manchester and expressed support to make changes to the failed economic model? ‘The country needs to know if Andy Burnham is serious about breaking out from the terrible orthodoxies from the past, or if he will just be more of the same.’ May 14, 2026 7:10 pmFull list of ministers who have resigned May 14, 2026 6:50 pmAway from Russia’s invasion and Labour’s civil war, the Ukrainian first lady arrives in Number 10 at a tumultuous time Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska has arrived at Downing Street for a reception hosted by Lady Victoria Starmer. Lady Zelenska wore a dark-coloured trouser suit as she arrived. They are meeting along with a delegation of other first ladies and gentlemen from countries around the world who have been at a summit in London on Thursday. Mrs Starmer is hosting a reception for a delegation from the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen Global Platform. The event is taking place as part of the UK-Ukraine 100-Year Partnership, which was set out in 2025 to strengthen long-term ties between the two nations. May 14, 2026 6:50 pmMP says Labour’s ruling body ‘must allow Burnham to stand’ Andy Burnham confirmed his eyes are set on Parliament again after almost ten years as the Greater Manchester mayor (Picture: Getty Images Europe) Andy Burnham’s road back to Westminster politics isn’t clear of obstacles yet. Labour’s top governing body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), has the power to decide whether he can stand in the Makerfield by-election. In February, it decided to block him from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election, although this time, the stakes and the situation are different. Nadia Whittome, the Nottingham East MP, said on X: ‘The NEC must allow Andy Burnham to put himself forward to be the candidate for Makerfield. ‘To block our most popular politician, in a moment of severe crisis for our party, would not only gift this seat to Reform but would jeopardise Labour’s future. All NEC members, across all factions, can see this and I hope will do the right thing.’ May 14, 2026 6:30 pmReform’s Nigel Farage reacts to by-election Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, has commented on the announcement that a Makerfield seat will be open for contest in a by-election. He vowed that Reform, which saw a surge in the local elections last week, will ‘throw absolutely everything at it.’ We look forward to the Makerfield by-election. Reform will throw absolutely everything at it.— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) May 14, 2026 May 14, 2026 6:20 pmHow did Makerfield vote in the general election? The Makerfield ward, an area in Winstanley nestled southwest of Wigan in the North West, was won by Labour in the 2024 general election. While Labour’s Josh Simons, who stood down today to clear the path for Burnham, won with 18,202 votes, Reform UK was closely behind. Reform’s Robert Kenyon took home 12,803 votes, with a huge gap before the third candidate, Conservative Simon Finkelstein (4,379 votes). May 14, 2026 6:06 pmAndy Burnham’s Makerfield statement in full Here is Andy Burnham’s full statement confirming that the Greater Manchester mayor will stand for the Makerfield seat in the upcoming by-election. ‘I can confirm that I will be requesting the permission of the NEC to stand in the Makerfield by-election. ‘I grew up in this area and have lived here for 25 years. I care deeply about it and its people. I know they have been let down by national politics. ‘Ten years ago, I decided to leave Westminster. Why? Because, after 16 years, I came to the conclusion that our national political system does not work for areas like ours. I learnt this fighting its failure to invest in the Wigan borough, for justice for the Hillsborough families and against its treatment of Greater Manchester during the pandemic. ‘Over the last decade, I have been challenging this failure from the outside and building a new and better way of doing politics. We have built Greater Manchester into the fastest-growing city-region in the UK and put buses back under public control, introducing a £2 fare cap to help people with cost-of-living pressures. ‘However, 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. ‘Millions are struggling and they need the Labour Government to succeed. It has already made changes to make life better for them in its first two years. After this week, we owe it to people to come back together as a Labour movement, giving the Prime Minister and the Government the space and stability they need as the by-election takes place. ‘I want to recognise the difficult decision taken by Josh Simons and the sacrifice he and his family are making. I have worked closely with him as Mayor on issues like flooding and illegal waste dumping and have seen first-hand how effective he has been. He has put the communities of Makerfield first, made a real difference for them and should take great pride in that. ‘Finally, I truly do not take a single vote for granted and will work hard to regain the trust of people in the Makerfield constituency, many of whom have long supported our party but lost faith in recent times. We will change Labour for the better and make it a party you can believe in again.’ May 14, 2026 5:44 pmBurnham confirms he wants to be an MP again. Andy Burnham has broken his silence, confirming his attention to stand in the Makerfield by-election. He said: ‘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.’