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BREAKING: Andy Burnham finds his route to Westminster and will stand in by-election
May 15, 2026
Josh Simons, the MP for Makerfield in the north-west, has said he will step down to make way for the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham to return to Parliament. In a post on Twitter, Josh Simons said he was standing down as MP for Makerfield so that the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham can “return to his home, fight to re-enter Parliament, and if elected, drive the change our country is crying out for”. Listen to the full show on the all-new LBC App: https://app.af.lbc.co.uk/btnc/thenewlbcapp #ukpolitics #LBC #breakingnews #news #starmer #labour #debate LBC is the home of live debate around news and current affairs in the UK. Join in the conversation and listen at https://www.lbc.co.uk/ Sign up to LBC’s weekly newsletter here: https://l-bc.co/signup
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0:00
As you heard 10 minutes ago, Andy Burnham was going to announce his route back into Parliament
0:05
10 minutes later, we have the route. Josh Simons is resigning as an MP
0:10
He was a minister, I think, in the Cabinet Office. He called on Keir Starmer to resign in an op-ed on Sunday
0:16
and has written this letter to his constituents. The truth is, he says, complacency has become a rot
0:22
The establishment is so far from the realities of your lives that too many tweak a failing system just to stay in power
0:30
As our world gets more insecure and our economy flatlines, Westminster stays stuck
0:36
I could not stand here and tell you that our politics is broken and things need to change
0:39
then stand in the way of supporting that change. That is why, says Josh Simons, I have decided to put you, the people I represent
0:47
and the country I love first. That means stepping aside as your MP for Makerfield to make way for a leader
0:53
who has the radicalism, the energy and immense courage to meet that moment
0:59
That leader, Aggie Chambre, Deputy Political Editor, is... Andy Burnham. This is his way back in
1:06
This is Andy Burnham's way back in. Potentially. Potentially. So the Mayor of Greater Manchester, of course, to run for leader
1:14
if he were to so choose to challenge Sir Keir Starmer, would have to be an MP
1:20
And this seems like it's his route in. So he is now going to try, we think, and stand as an MP in Makefield
1:27
where at the last general elections, Josh Simons won 5,400 votes. Reform UK coming second
1:37
5,400. It's OK. It's OK. You probably wouldn't call that a marginal seat
1:41
It's OK. It's not great. And, you know, in the local elections
1:45
reform did much better than that. And I think there will be massive question marks over whether or not this will backfire and whether or not Andy Burnham might still lose this by Now there another hurdle as well before we even get to whether or not he will win this by and that whether he will be allowed to stand
2:00
for this by-election. So the National Executive Committee blocked him when he tried to stand for
2:05
a seat back in February. My sense is from the conversations I have had, they have probably now
2:11
shifted. So either way, whether it's the 10 people making the decision, the sort of Executive Committee
2:17
or the 40, and I think he will be pushing for the 40, I think probably they've moved enough that they will let him in
2:22
If not, you could imagine the Civil War and the Labour Party getting even worse
2:27
OK. Galaxy brain moment. Theory number whatever we're on now. 2,000. Thank you
2:36
This becomes the sort of circus show in Makerfield that everyone anticipates, because if Andy Burnham is to win that seat
2:42
he's basically likely to become Prime Minister. subject to the NEC thing, whatever, whatever, whatever
2:50
Narrative swing, reform win it. Yes. Does that Andy Burnham goes again
2:56
It's such a good question. I mean, it's... Sorry, I know that we're so far down the line
3:03
No, but it's the momentum thing you were talking about before, right, isn't it? So has the contest already started to replace Keir Starmer as leader at that point
3:10
Or is Andy Burnham coming back into Westminster to challenge Keir Starmer? If it's the latter, if it's the former
3:16
the contest has already started, someone else, I think, wins. Maybe that's Keir Starmer
3:21
If it's the latter and the process is only triggered by Andy Burnham, probably the more likely option
3:26
and Andy Burnham then doesn't get in, maybe everyone does just think, should we just leave it
3:30
Back in the real world, what's the timescale for this? So we are probably talking six to eight weeks
3:38
Oh, my God. That's a long time. It's a long time. probably six to eight weeks for Andy Burnham to and we will find out then whether or not he is going to be back in Parliament The other thing is as well so Josh Simons is standing down
3:51
Fine. I mean, that, I would say, is unexpected. You know, you mentioned it. He was a minister until earlier this year
3:55
That is astonishing in itself. He's only just been elected. He's only just been elected. Let's just leave that one side for now
4:00
He's someone also who's been steeped in Labour politics. He's the director of Labour Together, who you were just talking to
4:05
Exactly. So he's going to stand down. So there is going to be a by-election
4:09
If the NEC block Andy Burnham, someone else is going to have to fight that by-election. Does Andy Burnham then quit
4:15
Because the argument that the NEC will make is that because he's Greater Manchester Mayor
4:18
and they might lose that mayoralty, they've got to block him from standing in this by-election
4:23
He could then quit as Greater Manchester Mayor and use that as his argument
4:27
Then, are we going to have... Is he going to quit? Is he then going to be allowed to stand
4:31
We've then got a by-election in Greater Manchester as well for the mayoralty, which reform could also win
4:36
Agui Chambre is LBC's deputy political editor. if you've just joined the show
4:40
It's all the drama, Mick. I just love it. Philip's in Sandhurst. Philip
4:46
Oh, can you tell Aggie not to have too much coffee? She's doing great, Philip
4:53
We knew the news before Andy Burnham knew the news. She's doing a fantastic job, but my head's starting to hurt me
4:59
I know, mine too, mine too. I'm going to be a bit dull. No
5:03
I'm going to be a bit dull. um Andy Burnham he says the check is in the poster Josh
5:13
this is when you're in a storm and I think partly this is a
5:21
conflated storm by certain people in certain sections of the media or whatever
5:28
but there is a storm there's no doubt about it you don't change your captain you're going to be a bit boring
5:33
Unfortunately with Keir Starmer is that he can rely on people like me I the type of person who gets the challenge faced by this government is a long affair
5:48
We understand that Rome wasn't built in a day. We recognise who has truly got the country at heart and those who don't
5:58
And we're prepared to work hard and be patient to see things through
6:04
Unfortunately, there are people around the Prime Minister who don't think that way, who put their own interests first
6:15
Mr Streeting doesn't understand, despite his name, that it's a two-way street
6:21
But Philip, the direction of travel, unfortunately, for your argument about boring continuity
6:28
which, listen, I think has its place, and I think a lot of people are fed up with all of this stuff
6:32
is that Labour are going to get annihilated at the next general election
6:35
if they carry on like this. That's their concern. And in that concern is that the people that would come in after them
6:42
are not the normal sort of Labour-Tory swings that we see. This would be a reformed government
6:47
And Keir Starmer has written to West Streeting this afternoon to say that it is incumbent upon all of us to rise
6:53
to what I see as a battle for the soul of our nation. yes and i agree with that the thing is though that is that kia is not flapping he is not flapping
7:05
like and he doesn't believe in tiktok politics he realizes that stability of the labor government
7:11
is intrinsic in the stability of the country maybe but if that stability and therefore delivering what
7:19
he's delivering which which doesn't seem to be moving the needle in his favor delivers the
7:24
instability of a reform government propped up by a conservative by whatever whatever whatever
7:28
that's not stability arguably
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