Candidates wishing to stand for Labour have until this lunchtime to apply to stand in the seat
The Green Party has confirmed they will stand a candidate in the Makerfield by-election
Keir Starmer has decided not to announce a departure timetable unless and until Andy Burnham wins the Makerfield by-election
Keir Starmer says he will give Andy Burnham his ‘one hundred per cent’ support in the Makerfield by election during a visit to Labour HQ
He says he wants ‘everyone in our movement’ to get behind Burnham – despite the fact that if he wins he is likely to succeed him as PM
“It’s not been easy circumstances in the last 10 days. But you have just got on with the job that we asked you to do.
“The election results tell us that people are frustrated, they don’t feel that their lives have changed quickly enough.
Labour’s Deputy Leader David Lammy compared Wes Streeting’s resignation to an act of self-immolation
Speaking on TV this morning he said:
‘Introspection and internecine warfare… effectively some of colleagues lighting the match and standing in the petrol… that is not going to deliver for the British people. What that will usher in is Farage’
He says there will be no timetable for Keir Starmer’s departure and insists that he will fight any challenge
‘I say to collegues 10 days of this, fine. I think the British people will forgive us for the introspection
Brexit wars have meanwhile broken out with Andy Burnham distancing himself from calls to rejoin the European Union following a backlash that threatens to derail his by-election campaign.
After resigning as health secretary last week, this weekend Streeting called for Britain to rejoin the European Union, describing Brexit as a “catastrophic mistake”. He said: “Britain’s future lies with Europe, and one day back in the European Union.”
His intervention prompted a furious response from Burnham’s supporters, who said it was a deliberate attempt to elevate Brexit as an issue in the Leave-voting seat of Makerfield, which the mayor of Greater Manchester must win to contest the party leadership
One Burnham ally said: “Wes’s only hope at becoming the next leader is for Andy to lose the by-election. [Streeting’s] comments … are counterproductive to Labour winning this by-election. It’s very transparent.”
An MP close to Burnham said it was a “a roll of the dice” by Streeting because “he can see the writing is on the wall”. A friend of Burnham said Streeting was “clearly trying to create a dividing line.”
Angela Rayner declined an offer from Keir Starmer’s team to replace Wes Streeting as Health Secretary
Starmer’s team made the offer on Thursday night after Streeting resigned
Josh Simons, who has stood down as Labour MP for Makerfield to make way for Andy Burnham, says that if Burnham wins the by-election it is the end of Keir Starmer
‘If Andy wins the by-election the different bits of the party should come together behind Andy’
