Things surrounding the government are, as is usually the case, a bit up in the air at the moment. With the Labour party reeling after a disappointing local election just a few weeks ago and leadership looking shaky, one of our own has stepped up to the plate, and our Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham could be in the running for the top job.
Since the Labour MP for Makerfield in Wigan Josh Simons stood down last week, it’s looking likely that Andy Burnham will run to replace him, but the rules are already getting a bit murky in terms of what that would mean for Greater Manchester as a whole, the mayorship, and how Burnham would represent our interests in parliament.
So we’ve gathered some of the important information to keep in mind whilst things in the government work themselves out.
How would Andy Burnham become the MP for Makerfield?
Since Josh Simons stood down, there is a space up for grabs in Makerfield. That means a by-election is pending – which will be some time in June 2026 – in which Andy Burnham (who has been cleared by Labour to run in the by-election) would compete against any and all other candidates put forward by other political parties.
Who would Andy Burnham have to beat to become Makerfield MP?
The entirety of the competition is not yet clear, but it’s likely that Labour, represented by Andy Burnham, would run against the usual Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and perhaps some independents – with the addition of the increasingly-popular Green Party and Reform UK.
New party Restore Britain has already put forward their candidate, Rebecca Shepherd.
It’s worth pointing out that Makerfield (made up of many constituencies) voted heavily for Reform in the most recent council elections – although the last general election saw Labour win 45.2% of the vote.
Does Andy Burnham have to resign as Mayor of Greater Manchester to run for MP?
According to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the Mayor of a Strategic Authority – as exists in Greater Manchester – may stand as a candidate in a Parliamentary election and be elected as an MP.
There is no legal requirement for the Mayor of a Strategic Authority to resign in order to be a candidate in a Parliamentary election.
The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 states that a Mayor who also has Police and Crime Commissioner functions is disqualified from being a Police and Crime Commissioner upon being elected as a member of the House of Commons.
As the Mayor of Greater Manchester has the Police and Crime Commissioner functions, they would – if elected as an MP – become disqualified from being Mayor. So, Andy Burnham would only cease to be Mayor of Greater Manchester if elected as MP for Makerfield – not whilst running beforehand.
At this point a vacancy would arise and a Mayoral by-election would take place within 35 working days.
Of course, this is a fast-developing situation and we’ll keep you as up-to-date as possible.