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Politics Weekly UK

Is Andy Burnham about to return to Westminster?

5/14/202627 min

Andy Burnham has announced he will attempt to return to Westminster after the Labour MP Josh Simons said he will vacate his Makerfield seat in order for Burnham to run in a byelection. It follows a day of breaking news in which the health secretary, Wes Streeting, resigned, saying he has lost confidence in the prime minister, and Angela Rayner announced she had been cleared by the HMRC. Where does this leave Keir Starmer, the leadership of the Labour party, and the country?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/politicspod

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First 90 seconds

  1. Speaker 10:00

    This is The Guardian.

  2. Speaker 20:01

    [suspenseful music] The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has said he'll request permission to stand in an upcoming by-election for Labor, potentially securing a route back into Parliament.

  3. Speaker 30:20

    We have just had the news that Wes Streeting has resigned as health secretary, saying he has lost confidence in the Prime Minister's leadership.

  4. John Harris· Soundbite0:31

    It's divisive. It looks chaotic. Who knows what the outcome might be. If Wes started this, it could actually le- end us up with a, a prime minister that's a long way to the left of him or Keir.

  5. Pippa Crerar· Host0:43

    I'm Pippa Crerar.

  6. Kiran Stacey· Host0:44

    And I'm Kieran Stacey.

  7. Pippa Crerar· Host0:45

    And you're listening to Politics Weekly.

  8. Kiran Stacey· Host0:48

    For The Guardian.

  9. Pippa Crerar· Host0:48

    Hello.

  10. Kiran Stacey· Host0:51

    Hello.

  11. Pippa Crerar· Host0:52

    Well, here we are at the end of what feels like a momentous day for the Labor Party and the government, Kieran. And it's one of those moments, isn't it, where about three weeks' worth of news happens in one day [laughs].

  12. Kiran Stacey· Host1:06

    Yeah. Well, so much has suddenly become clear. I remember just at the beginning of today thinking, "I have no idea what is going to happen during this day, and who, by the end of the day, I am going to think, 'Oh, well, that's going to be the prime minister in six months' time.'"

  13. Pippa Crerar· Host1:20

    Mm.

  14. Kiran Stacey· Host1:20

    And suddenly I feel like I do know all of that.

  15. Pippa Crerar· Host1:22

    Yeah, and we had a bit of a speculation overnight, which we reported on in The Guardian, that we might hear something from Andy Burnham about- Mm-hmm ... potentially

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