Andrew Gwynne resigns as an MP

Andrew Gwynne has stepped down as Gorton and Denton’s MP, nearly a year after he was named in the ‘Trigger Me Timbers’ WhatsApp scandal.

Mr Gwynne confirmed the news on Thursday (January 22) on social media, saying: “It has been the honour of my life to have been an elected representative for almost exactly three decades, representing my home community firstly as a Denton West Councillor on Tameside Council and then in the House of Commons as MP for Denton and Reddish and more recently for Gorton and Denton.

A lengthy statement added: “I wish all my friends in the Gorton & Denton Constituency Labour Party, the PLP and right across the House, well; and I wish the Labour government every success in meeting our country’s challenges head-on and providing the real change the people of Britain voted for in 2024.

In his resignation announcement, Mr Gwynne shared medical advice which urged him not to ‘return to work as an MP’. He asked to be ‘left in peace’ to recover.

He said: “I won’t be making any further statements. All I ask now is that I am now left in peace to be able to start the long process of getting well again, and to spend precious time with my family. And from me: Thank you once again. The end.”

A by-election will be held ‘soon’, he confirmed.

He was an MP for 21 years, first representing Denton and Reddish from 2005, then winning the newly-created Denton and Gorton constituency in 2024. A Labour stalwart until the Trigger Me Timbers scandal, Mr Gwynne rose to the rank of junior health minister in Keir Starmer’s government, having served as Jeremy Corbyn’s national campaign co-ordinator.

But he was sacked from the government in February 2025 when messages from the ‘Trigger Me Timbers’ WhatsApp group were leaked. Established to organise campaigns, it contained the MP and councillors representing wards in his old Denton and Reddish seat..

However, Mr Gwynne allegedly made antisemitic slights and joked about a pensioner dying before an election after she raised concerns about bin collections in the chat. Following it being made public, Mr Gwynne apologised.

A statement said: “I deeply regret my badly misjudged comments and apologise for any offense I’ve caused. I’ve served the Labour Party all my life and it was a huge honour to be appointed a minister by Keir Starmer.

“I entirely understand the decisions the PM and the party have taken and, while very sad to have been suspended, will support them in any way I can.”

Mr Gwynne and ex-Tameside councillor and now Burnley MP Oliver Ryan were later suspended by Labour, along with 11 councillors.

Following a six-month-long investigation, Tameside councillors George Newton and Jack Naylor, and Stockport councillor Andrew Verdeille, were expelled from Labour. Another group chat member was Mr Gwynne’s wife, Coun Allison Gwynne, who was reinstated to the party after the investigation concluded, along with Claire Reid, who resigned as a councillor late last year.

Mr Gwynne remained an independent MP until his resignation on Thursday. A vacant seat in Greater Manchester is likely to fuel rumours Andy Burnham will mount a leadership challenge.

Party rules say the Labour leader must be an MP, meaning Mr Burnham needs to find a way back to the House of Commons to have a crack at the top job. A seat in Greater Manchester, the region he has represented for his entire career, presents him an obvious opportunity to do so.

However, earlier on Thursday, the mayor refused to be drawn if he will try to stand in Tameside. He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I’ve had no contact on this issue with Andrew or anyone close to him. I know him of old, of course, but I’m as in the dark about this as anyone.

“People shouldn’t rush to conclusions. I have been very focussed on my role as mayor of Greater Manchester and I think the [reindustrialisation] plan I put out this week shows that.”

A Labour Party Spokesperson said: "We look forward to local residents in Gorton and Denton soon having the opportunity to get the representation they deserve with a new Labour MP. While Reform fill their ranks with more and more Tories who failed the country, people living in Gorton and Denton will soon have the opportunity to elect a local champion and Labour MP who will be relentlessly focused on tackling the cost of living, cutting NHS waiting lists and bringing investment and jobs to the local community."