Andy Burnham's Audacious Gambit: The MP Who Quit So the 'King of the North' Could Come Home

Within hours of Wes Streeting’s resignation on 14 May 2026, Makerfield MP Josh Simons announced he would resign his seat to allow Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to stand in the resulting by-election.

In a statement posted on X, Simons said: “For decades, Westminster has overseen the managed decline of towns like mine. We have talked big, then acted small, stuck in a politics of incrementalism that cannot meet the moment.”

He continued: “Today, I am putting the people I represent and the country I love first and will be resigning as MP for Makerfield. I am standing aside so that Andy Burnham can return to his home, fight to re-enter Parliament, and if elected, drive the change our country is crying out for.”

The move is extraordinary by modern parliamentary standards. According to parliamentary historians, it is the first time in over sixty years that a vacancy has been specifically created to provide a seat for a figure outside Parliament — the last comparable example being the 1965 Leyton by-election.

Burnham confirmed the same day that he would request permission from Labour’s National Executive Committee to stand as the party’s candidate. On 15 May, US News reported that the Labour Party had confirmed it would allow Burnham to run. The by-election is scheduled for 18 June 2026, with the Labour selection meeting set for 21 May.

This was not Burnham’s first attempt to return to Westminster. In January 2026, he applied to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election in Manchester, but was blocked by the NEC in an 8-1 vote. Deputy leader Angela Rayner has since called that decision a mistake. The seat was subsequently won by Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer.

Burnham, who served as MP for the neighbouring Leigh constituency from 2001 to 2017 before becoming Greater Manchester Mayor, remains the most popular senior Labour figure among both party members and the general public. According to YouGov favourability ratings published on 14 May 2026, Burnham leads all Labour figures in public approval.

Under Labour party rules, a candidate for the leadership must be a sitting MP — which is precisely why Simons’s resignation was necessary to create a path for Burnham.

Makerfield presents a genuine electoral challenge. At the 2024 general election, Labour won with 45.2% of the vote, with Reform UK second on 31.8% — a 13.4-point gap. But since 2024, Reform has risen further in national polling while Labour has fallen significantly. In the May 2026 local elections, Reform secured approximately 30% of the vote across Greater Manchester, while Labour fell to 23%.

If Burnham wins the by-election, it would trigger a Greater Manchester mayoral election — opening another front in what is already the most turbulent period in Labour politics since the Corbyn era.

Burnham’s statement on X struck a tone markedly different from Starmer’s defensive posture: “I grew up in this area and have lived here for 25 years. I care deeply about it and its people. I know they have been let down by national politics.”

He added: “Ten years ago, I decided to leave Westminster. Why? Because, after 16 years, I came to the conclusion that our national political system does not work for areas like ours.”