Ex-Labour minister quits as MP, paving way for Burnham return

Former Labour minister Andrew Gwynne has announced he is standing down as an MP, paving the way for Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to potentially run in a by-election in his Gorton and Denton constituency.

In a statement, Gwynne said he had suffered “significant ill health” and had been advised by his GP that it wasn’t safe for him to return to work as an MP.

Gwynne’s resignation possibly opens up a path for Burnham to return to the House of Commons and make a leadership challenge against Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Speaking earlier, Burnham did not rule out such a challenge but said people “shouldn’t rush to conclusions”, adding he was “very focused on my role as mayor”.

Gwynne was elected as a Labour MP but was suspended from the party in 2025 after a reports he had sent offensive WhatsApp messages.

His departure from the House of Commons triggers a by-election in his Greater Manchester constituency of Gorton and Denton, which Labour won at the last election with a majority of 13,000.

One senior source told the BBC that Gwynne had reached agreement on a pension on Thursday – which would allow him to retire as an MP on medical grounds.

Gwynne said his ill health had been “greatly exacerbated by the impact of last year’s events regarding leaked text messages”.

He quoted extensively from his GP’s advice, which said: “I worry that there is still a marked dissociation between the reality of his difficulties and the ‘front’ that he shows to the world.”

The GP continued: “I think that he will remain extremely vulnerable and further stress will cause rapid deterioration as it did in February.

“I do not think that he will be able to safely return to work as an MP.”

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “We look forward to local residents in Gorton and Denton soon having the opportunity to get the representation they deserve with a new Labour MP.”

Labour has not yet set a date for the by-election. Once the party’s chief whip “moves a writ” in Parliament, the contest must be held within 21 to 27 working days.

Asked about the speculation over Gwynne’s seat, Sir Keir said: “It is a very early stage, and the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party will set out the process in the usual way, as it always does for by-elections.

“Andy Burnham is doing an excellent job as Mayor of Manchester”.

There have been suggestions Burnham would like to replace Sir Keir as party leader – but he would only be able to enter any leadership race as a Labour MP.

If he decides to run in Gorton and Denton, he would need approval to run from Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) a body which is generally seen as being supportive of Sir Keir.

The BBC has been told that some of Sir Keir’s backers would seek to stop Burnham from standing.

Separately, several Labour sources said they expected the NEC to object on the grounds that Burnham standing for Parliament would in turn trigger a election for the Greater Manchester mayoralty, which would be seen as a drain on party funds as well as politically risky.

It is also possible that the NEC would insist that there should be an all-women shortlist of possible Labour candidates for a by-election in the Commons because a majority of the party’s MPs are currently men.

But others in the party questioned whether, if the NEC blocked Burnham from standing, his allies among Labour MPs could force party officials to overturn that decision.

One well-placed source has suggested that blocking Burnham would not be without political pain but the risk of a leadership contest would be worse.

If selected as Labour’s candidate, he would still have to win a by-election in Gorton and Denton at a time when the party’s popularity is low – although recent polling suggests Labour could hold on to the seat.

In the 2024 general election, Gwynne won with 18,000 votes. The Reform UK candidate came second securing 5,000 votes, just ahead of the Greens who picked up 4,810 votes.

Burnham – a former cabinet minister who has twice stood for the Labour leadership without success – has previously not denied he could challenge Sir Keir, saying: “I’m not going to rule out what might or might not happen in the future.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “This by-election is by no means a certainty for Labour, the left-wing greens will split their vote and we will be the challenger. We will give it our all.”

Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office Spokesperson Lisa Smart said: “People in Gorton and Denton and across the country deserve so much better than this endless soap opera.

A Green Party spokesperson said they were “prepped and ready to go for any future by-election”.

“We were deadly serious when we said we are not here to be disappointed with Labour but we are here to replace them.”