Reports this morning claim that Andy Burnham will be standing in the Rusholme seat of Afzal Khan as he seeks to return to Parliament to take part in the Labour leadership campaign
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is set to resign this morning and will announce that he is challenging Kier Starmer for the leadership of the party
According to the Times, Khan is prepared to step down but will not make a final decision until after Wes Streeting launches his expected leadership bid.
There are however still hurdles for Greater Manchester’s Mayor to cross
He would first need to be approved by Labour’s governing National Executive Committee (NEC) — both to resign as mayor and become Labour’s candidate in a parliamentary by-election
Secondly winning the constituency based on voting in the local elections last week would not be straightforward with the Greens certain to push Labour hard in any campaign, the seat is next door to Gorton and Denton which saw Hannah Spencer triumph for the party earlier this year
The party took 50 per cent of the vote last week compared to 30 per cent for Labour
Meanwhile Khan has now denied he will stand down for Burnham, saying “I’m not stepping down”
“At the last General Election, the people of Manchester Rusholme put their trust in me to represent them to Parliament, and that is the job I am focused on doing.”
Ed Miliband has the numbers to stand in a leadership contest if Andy Burnham is unable, his allies say while reports say the Wed Streeting may be struggling to get the 81 MP’s he would need to go on any ballot
