"The only problem? He's not an MP - a requirement to stand as Labour leader. In January, he was knocked back by Labour's ruling national executive committee (NEC) when he sought to stand in a by-election. But he has now managed to find a Labour MP willing to stand down to give him a chance to get back to Westminster to challenge Sir Keir Starmer. It is not a done deal - he could still be blocked from standing in Josh Simons' Makerfield constituency by the NEC."
"He will also need to be selected as a candidate by the local party and then win a by-election in a seat where Reform UK came second by 5,399 votes at the 2024 general election and swept the board at last week's local elections. In a statement, Burnham said: "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." He also made it clear that, if he is selected, he will run on his record as mayor of Greater Manchester, where he has been elected three times with successive landslides, vowing to "make politics work properly for people" across the UK."
"Born in Liverpool in 1970, Burnham grew up in Culcheth, a quiet commuter belt village in Cheshire, near Warrington. His father, a BT engineer, and his mother, a GP receptionist, were both staunch Labour supporters and he developed an early interest in politics. Burnham has described how he was inspired to join the Labour Party at the age of 14, after being moved by the BBC TV drama, Boys from the Blackstuff, ab"
Andy Burnham is backed by many Labour MPs as a potential route to Labour’s recovery after poor polling and election results. He is not currently an MP, which prevents him from standing for Labour leader. He previously failed to secure a by-election candidacy through Labour’s NEC, but has now found a Labour MP willing to step aside to allow him to return to Westminster. His candidacy could still be blocked by the NEC, and he must be selected by the local party and win a by-election in Makerfield, where Reform UK finished second by 5,399 votes in 2024 and performed strongly in recent local elections. Burnham says he will regain trust in the constituency and, if selected, will campaign on his record as Greater Manchester mayor.
Read at www.bbc.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]