Keir Starmer will not attempt to block Andy Burnham from standing to be MP in Makerfield, Greater Manchester, The Guardian understands. An ally of Starmer said: “Keir is focused on bringing the party together so it can tackle the issues facing working families.”
Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, issued a statement saying he wants to return to Westminster, citing the cost of living crisis and the need for “much bigger change at a national level”. Josh Simons, the former Cabinet Office minister who is MP for Makerfield, announced he is resigning to free up the seat for Burnham.
Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary and called for Labour to have a leadership contest with “the best possible field of candidates”. He accused Starmer of failing to offer proper leadership and being partly responsible for Labour’s losses in last week’s elections. James Murray was appointed health secretary, with Lucy Rigby becoming Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Rachel Blake as Economic Secretary.
Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell is expected to say that Burnham, Streeting and Angela Rayner should all be “key players” in Labour’s team. Rayner resolved her tax affairs with HMRC, settling £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty and being cleared of deliberate wrongdoing.
Liverpool mayor Steve Rotheram said Labour should welcome a leadership contest from Burnham, warning the party faces an “existential threat” after poor local election results. Liberal Democrat MP Lisa Smart criticised the move, saying “the arrogance of these men is staggering” and calling for Labour to pay the £5 million cost of the mayoral election that triggered the by-election.
