Labour MP for Makerfield Josh Simons announced on Thursday he would resign to pave the way for Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to run for a seat in the Commons.

Simons won the Greater Manchester seat in the 2024 election. It was his first tilt for Parliament.

The constituency boundaries were changed slightly in that election, but the seat has been Labour-held for decades.

In the 2024 election, Simons won with 18,202 votes - 45.2% - with Reform UK coming second with 12,803 votes, 31.8% of the vote.

You can see the full 2024 general election results for Makerfield on the BBC here.

Image source, PA Media

A Labour MP has described how Andy Burnham has been a "nightmare for the Labour Party" and that he does not think "he can ride to the rescue".

Neil Coyle tells BBC Newsnight that Burnham has been a good mayor of Manchester but he has been saying he wants to take over since Keir Starmer won a massive majority.

"Frankly, some of us are sick of it," he says.

He adds: "I've had dozens of ... members of the public emailing, phoning, texting, stopping me in the street to say, what on earth is he thinking of? This is so unhelpful."

Coyle also says organising the by-election could have a "huge cost to Manchester with no guarantees that Labour will win in that seat".

"It is a terrible scenario, entirely self-inflicted, and the NEC (National Executive Committee) should be stronger at standing up to the egos of one man," he adds.

Image source, Reuters

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is one step closer to returning to Westminster, having been cleared by Labour's ruling body to run for selection in the Makerfield by-election.

Josh Simons announced he would resign as MP for Makerfield, paving the way for a potential return for Burnham. The mayor is widely expected to try and challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer as Labour Party leader.

The BBC understands the by-election is likely to take place on 18 June.

Talk of a leadership contest has dominated Westminster following bruising election results for the Labour Party last week.

Its deputy leader Lucy Powell said on Friday that Burnham was needed as a "key player" in Westminster.

Burnham's leadership ambitions are no secret - but there are several hurdles he needs to overcome if he wants to ultimately challenge the PM.

First, he needs to be selected as the local party's candidate. Then he faces the challenge of winning the by-election.

If he wins, Burnham will then need to secure the backing of 81 Labour MPs if he wants to launch a leadership challenge against Starmer.

Meanwhile, Wes Streeting - who resigned as health secretary on Wednesday saying he had "lost confidence" in the PM - has enough support to trigger a race, allies say.

It's also widely believed that former deputy PM Angela Rayner may also throw her hat in the ring, having now resolved her tax affairs with HMRC.

We'll bring you key updates throughout the day.