Labour MP Josh Simons has announced he is standing down, making way for Andy Burnham to run in a by-election and return to Westminster ahead of a future leadership challenge.
In a statement released on Thursday afternoon, Simons said: "We have lost the trust of those our party was built to serve."
"I am in politics because politics is how you change lives for the better. My party has one last chance to do that: deliver for the people and places I represent, drive economic growth, secure our borders, reform our state and politics, and change a status quo that is not working."
"That is the fight. I believe Andy is the one to lead it."
Also on the programme:
- GDP was up 0.6 per cent, January to March, with half of travel that rise attributed to March alone.
-The English Football League says contingency plans are being made, for a possible change to the Championship play-off final between Southampton and Hull.
- The Princess of Wales spent the last day of her Royal visit to Italy by meeting children at a pre-school which focuses on a nature-first approach.
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