Impatient Labour MPs have urged Andy Burnham to launch a leadership bid as soon as possible if, as expected, he wins the crucial Makerfield by-election and secures his return to Westminster.
The most important by-election in decades could be the first in history to decide who is prime minister, with the fate of the government in the hands of the 76,641-strong electorate in the former coal mining town near Wigan when they head to the polls on Thursday.
