Labour MP Josh Simons has resigned to trigger a by-election and potentially provide Andy Burnham with a route back to parliament.
Burnham is considered one of the main contenders to challenge Keir Starmer’s leadership in the Labour Party.
However, one massive question hangs over the Manchester mayor: how does he return as an MP?
READ NEXT: Bombshell polling of Labour members shows who Starmer would lose to in a leadership contest
There’s been plenty of speculation about MPs giving up their seats to allow Burnham to stand in a by-election – and now it’s happened.
Labour MP Josh Simons has announced he is standing down from his seat in Makerfield.
In a letter on Thursday afternoon, Simons said Burnham can provide a “new direction” for the government.
He said he was “putting the people I represent first” by stepping down and offering Burnham a route into Parliament.
“I am standing aside so that Andy Burnham can return to his home, fight to re-enter Parliament, and if elected, drive the change our country is crying out for,” he wrote.
Simons won the Makerfield seat for Labour in 2024 by a 5,399, with Reform coming second.
His resignation comes just hours after Wes Streeting seemed to fire the starting gun on a formal leadership contest by resigning as health secretary.
In his resignation letter, Streeting did not call for a quick contest, instead writing that it should have “the best possible field of candidates.”
This suggests he may be willing to wait for Burnham to secure a route back into Westminster through a by-election before sparking a contest that could then include the Manchester mayor.
Any would-be contenders will need the written support of 20% of Labour MPs, which at the moment is 81.