Labour MP stands aside as Andy Burnham eyes return to Parliament

[Twiglets1]

A scandal-hit Labour MP will give up his seat to make way for Andy Burnham, in the Manchester mayor’s first step to challenging Sir Keir Starmer for No 10.

Josh Simons, a former minister, said on Thursday that he was “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”.

It will trigger a by-election in the Greater Manchester constituency of Makerfield, which has been held by the Labour Party since it was created in 1983.

Mr Simons is a former minister who was forced to resign over his involvement in a smear campaign against journalists carried out while he ran the think tank Labour Together.

“It is my unwavering belief that nothing short of urgent, radical, courageous reform will make a difference,” he said. “That must start with a change in leadership.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/05/14/keir-starmer-live-rayner-wes-streeting-leadership-contest/

No, PFI (private finance initiative) was introduced in 1992 by John Major (Tory) though it was expanded during the Blair government.

@Poppingby ”They have vastly simplified it into a race war. Anyone who has done any work at all on this knows that it's a really complex issue and both victims and perpetrators are all sorts of people.”

Not really. The perpetrators were all Pakistani/Pakistani heritage Muslims, and all the victims were white girls.

Wrong !

A point of fact as I hate such blatant inaccuracies sited as fact on here

Get it right
they were not all of Pakistani heritage.

You are right.
They are described as ‘of south Asian heritage’.
Soz.

Grooming gangs and ethnicity: What does the evidence say?

Home Secretary Suella Braverman made several comments about the ethnicity of abusers in high-profile gangs.

To the BBC she said the gangs were "overwhelmingly" made up of British-Pakistani males.

The Home Office clarified that she was talking about three of the most notorious grooming gang cases, from Rochdale, Rotherham, and Telford.

So what does the evidence say about the ethnicity of members of grooming gangs who sexually exploit children?

In her independent review of the Rotherham case published in 2014, Prof Alexis Jay concluded that the majority of "known perpetrators were of Pakistani heritage" including five men convicted in 2010.

Greater Manchester Police identified the men convicted at the trial in the Rochdale abuse scandal in February 2012 as British Pakistani.

The Telford abusers were men of "southern Asian heritage", according to an independent inquiry carried out into the case.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65174096

Going back to the main topic under discussion, there's an article in the Telegraph this morning saying ministers believe Starmer may stand down as Prime Minister if Burnham wins the Makerfield by-election.

The by- election is expected to be on June 18th.

Both Angela Rayner and Ed Miliband are expected to forgo their own Labour leadership ambitions and throw their support behind Mr Burnham if he becomes an MP and triggers a contest. But Streeting would likely be running too.

Burnham was approved by Labour’s National Executive Committee on Friday to seek Labour’s candidacy in Makerfield. Selection of a candidate will take place on Thursday and he is expected to be chosen.

Can anyone tell me why Andy Burnham would be a good PM? I know nothing about him & don't recall ever hearing him speak on TV. All I've read so far is that he's a popular major of Manchester & not KS.

I don't think there's an easy answer to that beyond he has done a decent job as Mayor so has some kind of track record.

Mainly, he is seen as further left than Starmer. So people who don't think Starmer is left wing enough may prefer the idea of Burnham as PM.

Though that could also work against him with certain voters who would prefer not to have a very left wing person in charge.

That’s interesting - because the message has very much been that Starmer will challenge it. He may well win any challenge brought to him.

I also think if Streeting had the numbers needed for nominations (81), then he’d have probably challenged him already - he’s just not that popular within the party, so I think even if he did have the MP backing he’d most likely lose in a vote to Starmer.

Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could have a calm few months in politics? And now we’ve got weeks of this. To be fair, Starmer seems to be just getting on with the day job (which is more than can be said for Burnham).

What the article says (unfortunately it's behind a paywall) is that Loyalists who have discussed the leadership stand-off with Sir Keir in recent days say he is much less defiant privately than in public and “all options” are being considered.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/05/15/starmer-could-stand-aside-for-burnham/

So I don't think it's clear at this stage @Sherbs12 what Starmer will choose to do. He may stand aside for Burnham, if he wins the by-election.

Or it could be a (probably) 3 horse race between Starmer, Streeting and Burnham.

If Burnham loses the by election, I imagine Starmer would fight Streeting and be more likely to win.

As OP said he’s seen to be more ‘soft-left’ now which is strange as he was previously seen as more of a Blairite - the party voted for Ed Milliband and then Jeremy Corbyn over Burnham in leadership elections as they moved further left after the Blair-Brown years.

And I think your summary pretty much makes the key points; there’s been so much focus on his popularity in polls - although you have to wonder if that’s because he’s outside of government.

The only thing I’d add, is that he’s perceived to connect well with the electorate and have ‘more vision’ which sounds really abstract - because it is. His years of support and work on the Hillsborough justice campaign have been impressive; people respect his work on this, and the way he’s advocated for and championed the Greater Manchester region.

Does he have what it take to suitable to he PM? My answer would have always been probably yes, one day, but not now and not like this. Although, I see other supporters saying he’s making the bold, brave choices and that’s the type of energy we need right now in government.

Ah right - it must be having an impact on him. I wonder if Shabanna Mahmood will add herself to the list? Also, who is advising Streeting? Or maybe it’s just ego. He only won his own MP seat by a very thin margin!

Read your own article. It supports my point not yours. This has been hijacked as a race issue, not proven as one.

The victims" profile is important because they were seen as disposable. They were not only white by the way. But they were generally vulnerable, poor, working class, young, and women. That's why they were targeted by criminal men and not protected by people who should have protected them. That's the actual issue. It's ALL about the victims. They were considered valueless.

You make it about immigration because it suits you to and posting an article without reading it properly shows it. Sickening.

I think @Twiglets1 has perfectly proved who the perpetrators were @Poppingby.

I read the whole article.

I don’t know what you mean about I make it all about immigration, I haven’t mentioned immigration. Maybe you are confusing me with another poster.

The article provides evidence from independent inquiries that the majority of the men involved were British Pakistanis. That’s factual.

I don’t know about Shabanna Mahmood - she is popular with those right of centre but I haven’t heard anything suggesting she is going to join a leadership challenge.

From the article you posted: This "makes it impossible to know whether any particular ethnic group is over-represented as perpetrators of child sexual exploitation by networks," the report concluded.

If you read it, you were hoping other people wouldn't.

But I'm out. This sort of obfuscating behaviour is either stupid or manipulative. Only you know which.

Claiming the apparatus sexual abuse of majority white girls and women by majority Asian British men isn't a race issue is false and frankly disgusting given that there was repeated evidence of people in power being reluctant to take action out of fear of being called racist. That also happened with the Southport murderer by the way - CAMHS accused his school of being racist when they raised serious concerns.

Back to Andy Burnham - I don't live anywhere near Manchester so his record as mayor is not something I have any awareness of and is irrelevant to me. Being more left than KS is not a selling point for me & I doubt it is for most of the UK either.

I wasn’t hoping anything. I was looking for objective evidence as to whether all the perpetrators in the grooming gangs were Pakistani or not, because I was interested in the debate you were having with @KatiePricesKnickers

The evidence is that most of them were, not all though.

@EricTheHalfASleeve the local election results seem to suggest that no, being left of KS would not be a selling point. It’s strange to me that the Labour Party seems to think this is what the electorate want when the recent evidence seems to be in the opposite direction.

18 June for the by-election! It's amazing how quickly these politicians can act when motivated by self-interest, isn't it.

Another Makerfield resident here.

I'm thrilled that so many find it 'hilarious' that we could end up with Reform MP.

I'm very sad that Josh is standing down, he's been an incredibly good local mp which I don't think is something that we will get if AB becomes Prime Minister. I remember him being MP for Leigh and he was well liked there.

As with other Makerfield posters, me, dh, adult children and their partners will all vote for him, however I am still extremely nervous.

Bridget Phillipson the Education Secretary has become the first Cabinet minister to back Andy Burnham’s return to Westminster.

When asked for her thoughts on whether the mayor should run, she told BBC Radio 4’s Week in Westminster: “[There is] certainly no intention to stand in the way of Andy being a candidate... He’s been a great mayor in Greater Manchester.

“I’ve worked with him really closely on everything from Send reform to skills, further education, so I know he’ll be a strong candidate in putting himself forward.”

You said ALL
reports say not all

so. Not ALL !