British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L), former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner (C), and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham (R) meet with school children at a primary school in Ashton-under-Lyne, north-west England, on April 13, 2026. Paul Ellis/AP
British Labour Party lawmaker Josh Simons cleared the way for a possible leadership challenge to Prime Minister Keir Starmer by resigning from his seat, giving Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham the chance to return to parliament.
“Today, I am putting the people I represent and the country I love first and will be resigning as MP for Makerfield,” Simons wrote in a May 14 post on X. “I am 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.”