Labour ex-minister to step down as MP - potentially paving way for Andy Burnham to run for parliament

A suspended Labour MP is expected to announce he is retiring, triggering a by-election.

Andrew Gwynne, who was suspended from Labour over offensive WhatsApps, will soon retire from his Gorton and Denton constituency in Greater Manchester on medical grounds, Sky News understands.

This would trigger a by-election.

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The former Labour health minister, who is sitting as an independent while he awaits the results of a parliamentary standards investigation, has spoken about how debilitating mental illness and depression can be, most recently on Monday.

His departure could potentially pave the way for Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to become an MP, a step he would need to take to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership.

One of the most popular figures in the Labour Party, former Blair and Brown minister Mr Burnham has long been rumoured to be considering a return to Westminster politics.

After a series of resignations and sackings from Sir Keir's close circle, rumours ramped up in September that Mr Burnham was looking to challenge the prime minister.

Mr Gwynne's constituency, on the outskirts of Manchester, has been seen as a potential seat for Mr Burnham for a while.

The "King of the North", as Mr Burnham is sometimes known, has been re-elected as mayor three times since 2017 and has become well-known for being at odds with Sir Keir.

However, if he quit as mayor, he would be breaking his promise to stay on until 2028.

He would also need the backing of Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) to stand and any candidate would have to be approved by the Consitituency Labour Party for Gorton and Denton.

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If Mr Burnham was successful, a by-election for Manchester mayor would also be triggered, which would cost hundreds of thousands of pounds and Labour would not be guaranteed to win - something that could be used by the NEC to block his nomination as a candidate.

The NEC panel, which makes the final decision, is chosen by the office of the general secretary, Hollie Ridley, who is close to Sir Keir's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney.

Mr Burnham is also not guaranteed to win, even if he does run, with an emboldened Reform likely to pose a significant challenge.

Mr Gwynne had a medium-sized majority of 13,413 but the Reform candidate came second in the Gorton and Denton seat in 2024. Nationally the country has seen a significant swing to Reform from Labour in the polls.

A Reform spokesman said: "If the by-election happens, then Reform will throw everything at it. It's a huge ask for anyone to beat Labour in Manchester but we will give it our all."

A Labour source said, despite Mr Burnham being popular with party members, there are many MPs who do not want him as an MP as there is a "recipe of psychodrama" in the run-up to May's local elections when they need to focus on telling the public what the government is doing for the country.

They added there are "lots of other good options" for potential by-election candidates in the north west, including the female leader of Manchester City Council.

"It would be good to have a woman," they said.

(c) Sky News 2026: Labour ex-minister to step down as MP - potentially paving way for Andy Burnham to run for parliament