Ex-Labour Minister Andrew Gwynne has resigned as the MP for Gorton & Denton, paving the way for Andy Burnham to return to the House of Commons.

Mr Gwynne, who was stripped of the Labour whip over offensive comments made in a WhatsApp group, cited medical reasons behind his decision to step down.

The Gorton & Denton MP had been left out in the cold by Sir Keir Starmer after he wrote that he hoped a pensioner who did not vote Labour would die before the next general election.

Despite Labour restoring the whip to Burnley MP Oliver Ryan, Mr Gwynne has spent much of the time away from Parliament on sick leave and quit after reportedly striking a pensions deal.

A by-election could be held on the same day as the 2026 Local Elections on May 7, sparking a potential leadership headache for the Prime Minister.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who remains in post until 2028, has repeatedly refused to rule out a return to Westminster amid growing speculation about his Labour leadership ambitions.

When asked if he would challenge Sir Keir for the Labour leadership, Mr Burnham said last year: “I’m not going to sit here this morning and rule out what might or might not happen in future – I don’t know what the future will hold.”

Mr Gwynne, who was first elected to the House of Commons in 2005, returned to Westminster in July 2024 with an 18,000-vote majority over Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

However, Reform UK has made clear that it will target the Greater Manchester seat if Mr Burnham seeks a return to Westminster.

Mr Burnham, who previously represented Leigh in the House of Commons, is not expected to romp to victory following a drastic shift in support since the 2024 General Election.

A recent MRP conducted by More in Common suggested Reform UK is currently polling at 30 per cent of the vote in Gorton & Denton, putting Nigel Farage’s party two per cent ahead of Labour.

Meanwhile, the Green Party is also expected to turn the once-safe Labour seat into a three-way race, with the same survey showing support for Zack Polanski’s party stands at 23 per cent.

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While Sir Keir’s support slumps in the polls, voters across Greater Manchester remain supportive of their two-time mayor.

Mr Burnham secured almost two-thirds of the vote in Tameside, which covers Mr Gwynne’s seat of Gorton & Denton and Angela Rayner’s constituency of Ashton-under-Lyme.

An Ipsos poll conducted shortly before Christmas also found Mr Burnham beats the Prime Minister in a head-to-head contest, with the Greater Manchester Mayor opening up a 13-point lead over Sir Keir.

Mr Burnham also established a marginal four-point lead over Mr Farage, with the Reform UK leader level-pegging with the Prime Minister.

Despite favourable polling for Mr Burnham, Labour insiders suggest party officials are unlikely to put him forward for the potential by-election.

NEC members could even cite the gender balance of the Parliamentary Labour Party as the key reason for picking a different candidate.

However, Mr Burnham infuriated key figures in the Labour Party in Liverpool last September after being accused of mounting his most overt bid to succeed Sir Keir yet.

Following the Labour Party Conference, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has emerged as the favourite to replace Sir Keir, with Scottish MPs throwing their weight behind the Ilford North MP.

The Fire Brigades Union, which donated almost £1million to Labour in 2023/24, is putting pressure on Labour to select the Greater Manchester Mayor.

“It would be a democratic outrage if Andy Burnham was blocked from seeking selection as Labour’s by-election candidate in this seat,” the FBU’s general secretary Steve Wright said.

“In the event that a by-election takes place, as an affiliated union, the FBU will not stand by and allow senior Labour politicians like Andy to be carved out of this process.

“Our union will fiercely resist any attempts to stitch up the selection. It’s vital that there is a full and open democratic procedure to choose Labour’s candidate to fight this by-election. Anything less would be unacceptable.”