London MPs are among a surge in support for Andy Burnham to be given a by-election path back to Parliament.
Brent East MP Dawn Butler, chair of the group of London Labour MPs, stressed that their party needed its “best players on the pitch”.
As I said on @SkyNews @UKLabour needs our best players on the pitch.
— Dawn Butler ✊🏾💙 (@DawnButlerBrent) May 14, 2026
People with a proven track record of delivering@AndyBurnhamGM has shown what Labour leadership can achieve in Greater Manchester. It’s important he's allowed to stand. pic.twitter.com/3ZI9vdggGD
Beckenham and Penge MP Liam Conlon welcomed the possible Commons comeback by the Greater Manchester Mayor as “good news for the Labour Party and the country”.
Mr Burnham is asking Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee for permission to seek to be the party’s candidate at the Makerfield by-election.
It is set to take place after former minister Josh Simons said he would stand down to allow Mr Burnham a route back to Parliament.
If the Greater Manchester Mayor is successful, MPs expect a leadership contest for him to replace Sir Keir Starmer in No10.
But former Cabinet minister Mr Burnham would face a tough battle against Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in a by-election in Makerfield.
Mr Farage has vowed to “throw absolutely everything” at such a contest.
In a sign of how difficult it may be for Mr Burnham, one of his MP supporters said: “If we can get everything else to align, we have a fighting chance.”
Mr Simons won the Makerfield seat at the 2024 general election with a majority of 5,399 and 45% of the vote, ahead of Reform on 32%, the Conservatives on 11%, the Liberal Democrats on 7% and the Greens on 4%.
He gained 18,202 votes, with Reform getting 12,803, the Tories 4,379, the Lib Dems 2,735 and the Greens 1,776.
Labour’s majority in Makerfield of 5,399 is smaller than the one overturned by Reform at the Runcorn & Helsby by-election in Cheshire in May 2025, and is also smaller than the majority overturned by the Greens at the Gordon & Denton by-election in February 2026.
Labour chiefs, including Sir Keir, blocked Mr Burnham’s previous attempt at a Commons comeback by stopping him being the party’s candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
But there is now strong support among Labour MPs for Mr Burnham to return to Parliament.
Ms Butler stressed on X: “@UKLabour needs our best players on the pitch. People with a proven track record of delivering.
“@AndyBurnhamGM has shown what Labour leadership can achieve in Greater Manchester. It’s important he's allowed to stand.”
Mr Conlon backed Mr Burnham’s planned Westminster comeback, saying: “It’s good news for the Labour Party and the country.
“Andy shouldn’t have been blocked from Gorton & Denton. And he shouldn’t be blocked now.”
In a possible sign of waning authority, including over the NEC, Sir Keir has signalled that he will not seek to stop Mr Burnham getting back into Parliament.
But one of his closest Cabinet allies said Labour would be “consumed” by chaos if a leadership contest to replace Sir Keir was triggered.
Communities Secretary Steve Reed also denied that the PM was planning to resign.
The MP for Streatham and Croydon North said Labour had looked "appalling" to the country with its infighting over the PM’s future.
He urged Labour MPs: "This weekend everyone needs to just take a breath.”
"We've had a dreadful week,” he added on BBC Breakfast.
"We've looked appalling to the country in the way that we've behaved."
Health Secretary Wes Streeting quit on Thursday amid expectations that he was set to launch a bid to trigger a leadership race.
But Mr Reed stressed that no-one had yet succeeded in getting the support of 81 MPs to challenge Sir Keir in a contest.
Nearly 100 Labour MPs have urged Sir Keir to resign or set out a timetable for his departure, but more than 100 have signed a letter saying he should remain PM.
Earlier in the week, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said she had been cleared by HMRC of deliberate wrongdoing over her tax affairs, clearing the path for a potential tilt at the top job.
Meanwhile, Britain’s long-term government borrowing costs came under pressure again amid the political instability.
The yield on 30-year UK government bonds, also known as gilts, surged 12 basis points to 5.774% in Friday morning trading, climbing close to 28-year highs reached earlier this week.
