𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Labour leadership hopeful Andy Burnham could make a dramatic return to Parliament, giving him the chance to challenge Sir Keir Starmer. Andrew Gwynne, the Labour MP for Gorton & Denton in the North West, is reported to be standing down with an official announcement expected as soon as today. It would pave the way for Greater Manchester Mayor Mr Burnham to stand as the Labour candidate in a by-election, allowing him to return to Westminster if he wins.

It was widely rumoured last year that Mr Burnham hoped to run for the party leadership, but he would first need to find a way to return to Parliament. It was also reported that Mr Gwynne, a former health minister who had the Labour whip removed over offensive WhatsApp messages, could stand down to make way for him.

The Times reports that talks were held about Mr Gwynne returning on medical grounds in February, so that a by-election could be held on the same day as local elections in May.

The MP was placed under investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards after he was accused of posting offensive messages in a WhatsApp group called Trigger Me Timbers.

Mr Gwynne said last year: “I deeply regret my badly misjudged comments and apologise for any offence I’ve caused.”

Mr Burnham would also need to win the nomination to become the party’s by-election candidate, and could be blocked if the party decides to implement an all-women shortlist. Labour’s National Executive Committee could also block him from standing because it would require the election of a new Greater Manchester Mayor.

If Mr Burnham is chosen as the candidate, he would then need to win the by-election, where there could be strong challenges from both Reform UK and the Green Party.

He was an MP previously, and served as Health Secretary.

Latest polling by YouGov found just 18% of voters have a positive opinion of Sir Keir Starmer, while 75% are unfavourable. The pollster’s analsysis said: “Keir Starmer’s net favourability rating of -57 is his lowest to date and joint-lowest recorded by YouGov of any prime minister other than Liz Truss.”

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has a net rating of -26, and Nigel Farage has a rating of -37.

Some Labour MPs believe Sir Keir will stand down voluntarily before the next general election but it is unclear how likely this is. One told the Express: “We have a lot of new MPs who might have spent years trying to get into Parliament and were elected for the first time in 2024. Now they are worried they will be kicked out again at the next election and they are getting very nervous.”