Andy Burnham to make bid to return to Commons as pressure mounts on Starmer

Labour's deputy leader Lucy Powell was expected to say Burnham, Streeting and Rayner should all be 'key players' in Labour's team at the Fire Brigades' Union conference.

Reform leader Nigel Farage said the party looked forward to the contest and would 'throw absolutely everything at it' after Reform's recent local-election performance in the area.

The Makerfield by-election date has not yet been announced and will depend on when the government triggers the formal process.

An ally of Sir Keir Starmer said he was focused on bringing the party together so it can tackle the issues facing working families.

Streeting's camp insisted he had enough support from MPs to trigger a Labour leadership contest, a claim disputed by an ally of Sir Keir Starmer.

Rayner told the Guardian she did not rule out running in any Labour leadership race but would not trigger a contest.

Angela Rayner announced she had resolved her tax affairs with HMRC, settling £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty.

Burnham said he would seek people's support to return to Parliament to bring the change he has brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and that he would not take a single vote for granted.

Andy Burnham said he would seek Labour's permission to run in Makerfield.

Labour MP Josh Simons said he would resign as Makerfield MP to make way for Andy Burnham's bid to return to Parliament.

Downing Street announced James Murray would succeed Streeting as health secretary, moving from chief secretary to the Treasury.

Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary, saying he had lost confidence in Sir Keir Starmer's leadership and blaming the unpopularity of the government for Labour's poor results.

Labour's National Executive Committee blocked Andy Burnham from contesting the Gorton and Denton by-election in February, a by-election Labour subsequently lost to the Green Party in that area.

Angela Rayner stood down from her cabinet roles in September 2025 after admitting she underpaid stamp duty on her £800,000 flat in Hove; she later said she had been exonerated of deliberately avoiding tax.