A summary of today's developments
A week is indeed a long time in politics as Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, issued a statement saying why he wants to be the next MP for Makerfield. Burnham said “much bigger change is needed at a national level”, singling out the cost of living crisis as a priority for his campaign in a statement that set out why he wanted to return to Westminster. Josh Simons, the former Cabinet Office minister who is MP for Makerfield, announced that he is resigning to free up a seat for Burnham.
The Guardian understands Keir Starmer will not attempt to block Andy Burnham from standing to be an MP in the Greater Manchester constituency. An ally of Starmer said: “Keir is focused on bringing the party together so it can tackle the issues facing working families.”
Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary and said he wants Labour to have a leadership contest with “the best possible field of candidates”. He told Keir Starmer: “It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour party into the next general election and that Labour MPs and Labour unions want the debate about what comes next to be a battle of ideas, not of personalities or petty factionalism. “It needs to be broad, and it needs the best possible field of candidates. I support that approach and I hope that you will facilitate this.” He accused Starmer of failing to offer proper leadership, and of being at least in part responsible for the scale of Labour losses in the elections last week.
James Murray has been appointed Health Secretary, following Wes Streeting’s resignation, Downing Street said. Murray was previously Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
Former deputy PM Angela Rayner has resolved her tax affairs with HMRC following an investigation, settling £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty. She has been cleared by HMRC of deliberate wrongdoing or carelessness over her tax affairs.
Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell is expected to say Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner should all be “key players” in Labour’s team in a speech on Friday.
Nigel Farage has provided a new explanation for why he accepted a £5m gift from a Reform UK donor in the weeks before he announced he would stand in the last general election. Farage said the money was a “reward” for campaigning for Brexit. Previously, he had said the gift was given for security purposes, to keep him “safe and secure” for the rest of his life. He had also claimed the gift was “purely private” and “wasn’t political in any sense at all”. Asked about the gift, he told The Sun: “And this was given to me on an unconditional basis, completely unconditional basis. But frankly, it was given as a reward for campaigning for Brexit for 27 years.”
Updated
Liverpool mayor Steve Rotheram said the Labour Party “should welcome” a leadership contest from Andy Burnham, declaring his Greater Manchester counterpart should be allowed to contest the Makerfield by-election.
Rotheram he has been “loyal to every Labour leader” ever since he was a kid, but last week’s local election results brought concerns “into sharp focus”.
“Our party is the greatest organ for social change this country has ever seen, but if we carry on down this road, we face an existential threat and risk letting down the very people we are here to represent,” he added.
