'Why I stood down as an MP for Andy Burnham'

"The MP who has stepped down as an MP to allow Andy Burnham a chance to challenge the prime minister has said it "was too big an opportunity to miss". Josh Simons, the Makerfield Labour MP, told BBC Radio Manchester he spoke to Burnham earlier this week, adding: "I just couldn't say no". Simons stood down on Thursday, allowing the Greater Manchester mayor to put himself forward as a parliamentary candidate. He won the seat by 5,399 votes over Reform candidate Robert Kenyon at the last election."

"The 32-year-old father-of-three, who has only been an MP for two years, said stepping aside was the "most difficult decision of my life". Simons added: "It was a decision I took with my wife. We decided as a family. "We've been speaking about this for a few days. It's been incredibly fast, if I'm honest. He added the Labour Party had been "imploding"."

""We were heading for a leadership election with the Labour Party spit into different factions, and there was no hope, no energy that anything would change" He added that Makerfield was "where Andy Burnham has lived for 25 years" and that he was "coming home". He said "Labour needs to change and the whole government needs to change". Simons' decision came as Labour MPs began calling for Sir Keir Starmer to set a timetable to quit his job following Labour's disastrous showing in the local elections last week."

"On Thursday Health Secretary Wes Streeting resigned from the government, signalling a future intentions to challenge Starmer on the same day another possible candidate, former deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner claimed an investigation into her tax affairs by His Majesty's Revenue and Customs was over. Burnham, who has been metro mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017, needs to be an MP again to lead the party."

Josh Simons, the Labour MP for Makerfield, stepped down to allow Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to stand as a parliamentary candidate. Simons said the chance was too big to miss and that he spoke with Burnham earlier in the week. He described stepping aside as the most difficult decision of his life, made with his wife and family. Simons said Labour was imploding, with factions forming and no hope of change, and he said Makerfield is where Burnham has lived for 25 years. He added that Labour and the whole government need to change. His move followed growing pressure on Keir Starmer after poor local election results and resignations within the government.

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