Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham goes for run near his home this morning.Andy Burnham has been confirmed as Labour’s candidate in next month’s crucial Makerfield by-election.
The Greater Manchester mayor was the only person who put his name forward to stand for the party.
It comes after Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) confirmed that it would not block his attempts to return to parliament.
It sets up a titanic battle between Burnham and the Reform UK candidate, Robert Kenyon, a local plumber who stood in the seat at the 2024 general election.
He lost by 5,399 votes to Labour’s Josh Simons, who announced last week that he was resigning to let Burnham try to return to Westminster.
Reform leader Nigel Farage has vowed his party will “throw everything” at the campaign to block Burnham.
Farage said: “This by-election contest is now a David versus Goliath battle.
“This is the ‘The Plucky Plumber’ taking on ‘Open Borders Burnham.’ Only Reform UK can beat Labour in this by-election.”
If he wins, Burnham is expected to immediately challenge Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership and the keys to 10 Downing Street.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Follow HuffPost UK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Bengali (Bangladesh) · 
English (United States) ·