Link to newsround

Possible PM rival aims to come back to Parliament

Andy Burnham, wearing a blue blazer and white tshirtEPA

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham says he will try to become an Member of Parliament (MP) again.

Mr Burnham said he would ask the Labour Party to allow him to be a candidate after the Labour MP for Makerfield, Josh Simons, said he would resign to make way for him.

Since the results of the local and national elections, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been under a lot of pressure, with many of his own party saying he needs to step down.

Political experts see Mr Burnham as someone who could challenge Sir Keir for the top job, but to do so he would need to be an MP, which currently, he isn't.

Who might want Sir Keir Starmer's job?

BBC political reporter Jack Fenwick updates us on what's going on in Downing Street

Mr Burnham is just one of the people who might like to try to take over as Prime Minister from Keir Starmer.

As yet, no-one has directly challenged him and no leadership contest has been launched.

On 14 May, another expected contender, Wes Streeting, resigned from Mr Starmer's top team, saying he had lost confidence in his leadership.

Meanwhile another potential candidate, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, has claimed that she has resolved issues around her payment of tax, which led her to resign from government in 2025.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says he would fight any leadership challenge against him.

What's next?

Keir Starmer (left) and Andy Burnham (right)

Keir Starmer (left) and Andy Burnham (right) could be rivals to be Labour leader

If Mr Burnham is selected to try to win in Makerfield, it doesn't mean he automatically becomes the MP for Makerfield.

He will have to run in a by-election where he will face tough competition from other political parties and convince the voters who live there to pick him to represent them.

Reform UK did well in the recent elections in the area and that party's leader Nigel Farage said he looked forward to the contest and would "throw absolutely everything at it" .

Mr Burnham has been an MP before and said he wanted to return to Parliament in order to "bring the change we have brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and make politics work properly for people".

He would, he added, "not take a single vote for granted" and would "work hard to regain the trust of people" in the constituency.

He has twice stood to be Labour leader in the past but was beaten both times.