Revolving door politics

Yes they do, I think people will change their mind about him when his crafty plan takes affect and the USA starts booming. He didn’t take over Venezuela for nothing.

Casdon

Yes MaizieD, I was just pointing out that it wasn’t the first time it had happened in practice.

Apologies for misinterpreting you.

The word 'precedent' sounded a bit as though it was custom and practice rather than electoral law.

(What a 'precedent' to cite though )

Yes MaizieD, I was just pointing out that it wasn’t the first time it had happened in practice.

Casdon

There is a precedent, Boris Johnson did not resign as mayor of London until he won his seat as an MP.

It isn't a question of precedent, it's the rules

From Parliamentary briefing on the 2024 Metro Mayor elections

A Member of Parliament can stand to be a metro-mayor, and vice versa. Dan Jarvis served both as mayor of South Yorkshire and MP for Barnsley betwee2018 and 2022. One sitting MP, Ben Bradley (Con, Mansfield), is standing on 2 May, to become mayor of the East Midlands.

A Member of Parliament cannot take office as a Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), and therefore a sitting MP cannot take office as a mayor with PCC responsibilities. Tracy Brabin had to resign her seat as an MP in 2021 before accepting the office of mayor of West Yorkshire, as that mayoralty has PCC responsibilities.

Nothing about having to resign before standing for Parliament.

Burnham can't do both jobs because the Mayoralty of Manchester includes Police and Crime Commissioner duties. Otherwise, it seems he could do both,,

The PCC is being abolished in 2028.

keepingquiet

This isn't a 'normal' by-election though is it? Even if it takes place.

Burnham has to hand in his resignation as Mayor first of all.

I new campaign has to be held for the new Major- so yes the two things could go side by side- that would be interesting in itself!

Say Burnham does get elected as MP, as someone mentioned above, that doesn't mean he will be PM!

First, Starmer would have to resign- then there would have to be a leadership election. There is no way Burnham could become PM without this happening.

All this is hot air and candyfloss...

There is a lot of hot air I agree- but the end result will not be candy floss. It will definitively go one way or another.

The Makerfield by election will definitely take place as the incumbent MP has resigned. It is likely to take place on Thursday 18th June or if not then, likely the following Thursday.

Yes, it's an unusual by election because of the circumstances. Everyone knows Labour performed badly in recent local council elections in the country generally, and badly in that local area. Everyone also knows that Burnham has ambition to lead the Labour Party. Local residents will also have experience of Burnham as their region's Mayor for the past 10 years.

So those voting will likely factor all that in- i.e. realistically would they prefer Reform or Labour to win the next GE. Plus will Burnham serve us locally as our MP.

Burnham now needs to be selected as the local Labour candidate in the coming days but it is highly improbable that he won't be selected. The other parties also will currently be going through their processes to nominate their candidate to represent their party. The Greens have said it will be left to decide locally. I have no idea what the Reform process is- most likely Farage will decide?

Then all the candidates start campaigning, both on local issues- but in these circumstances on some of the bigger party issues also most likely. There will be a lot of press attention no doubt.

If Burnham wins he will be sending a clear message to his fellow MPs, Labour Party members, Starmer and the Union leaders (who predominantly fund the Labour Party) that he can withstand Reform and Green Party ascendency and thus Starmer's position weakens further. The union leaders no doubt will start bending Starmer's ears (perhaps to stand down) as union leaders' confidence in Starmer as PM has for the most part nose-dived. I would guess that the Unions make their favourable views regarding Burnham's win known publicly ( again undermining Starmer's position) and maybe even go as far as to publicly support Burnham in a leadership challenge.
After all, some of the unions, following the poor local by election results last week, have polled their members whether to dis- affiliate from the Labour Party. The Labour Party needs the Union's funding streams so needs to do something to stop haemorrhaging Union Leader's support.

If Burnham loses, all bets are off. He is taking a huge risk/ do or die decision, in terms of his ambition to get back to Westminster and in terms of his ambition to be PM. His position is severely weakened if he fails to win the by election.

There is a precedent, Boris Johnson did not resign as mayor of London until he won his seat as an MP.

Burnham has to hand in his resignation as Mayor first of all.

Well, according to Electoral legislation he doesn't. He only has to resign if he is elected as an MP because under that legislation an MP cannot be a Metro Mayor.

Whether there is a Labour party rule which says differently is a moot point. No-one seems to know.

Starmer doesn't *have' to resign, either, but sufficient MPs backing Burnham in witing triggers a leadership election.

This has all been gone over many times in the past week in the media.

This isn't a 'normal' by-election though is it? Even if it takes place.

Burnham has to hand in his resignation as Mayor first of all.

I new campaign has to be held for the new Major- so yes the two things could go side by side- that would be interesting in itself!

Say Burnham does get elected as MP, as someone mentioned above, that doesn't mean he will be PM!

First, Starmer would have to resign- then there would have to be a leadership election. There is no way Burnham could become PM without this happening.

All this is hot air and candyfloss...

MayBee70

ronib

Does it take at least 3 months to hold a by-election ? Starmer won’t resign so is it business as usual until Burnham is elected to the House, if he is? Feels a bit messy? Even then, no guarantee that Burnham will be voted in as pm.

My partner tells me that some cabinet ministers are saying Burnham should just walk straight into the job if he becomes an MP again without a leadership election ( he says it’s in The Times) . Maybe it’s because people like me are saying they are either going to resign our membership or not vote for him. That would give other parties carte blanche to ignore the democratic process.

It doesn’t take three months, I’m not sure where that came from?
Here is the official process.
commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn06609/

ronib

Does it take at least 3 months to hold a by-election ? Starmer won’t resign so is it business as usual until Burnham is elected to the House, if he is? Feels a bit messy? Even then, no guarantee that Burnham will be voted in as pm.

My partner tells me that some cabinet ministers are saying Burnham should just walk straight into the job if he becomes an MP again without a leadership election ( he says it’s in The Times) . Maybe it’s because people like me are saying they are either going to resign our membership or not vote for him. That would give other parties carte blanche to ignore the democratic process.

We shall see.

Said by a friend apparently.😄

Oreo

He hopes to be PM by the Autumn.

Who said that?
He doesn't know if will get elected!
May be by the end of Autumn, which in my book is 6 months away...

He hopes to be PM by the Autumn.

ronib

Does it take at least 3 months to hold a by-election ? Starmer won’t resign so is it business as usual until Burnham is elected to the House, if he is? Feels a bit messy? Even then, no guarantee that Burnham will be voted in as pm.

Yes, because there will be the massive expense of another Mayoral election, and then a Parliamentary by-election.

Firstly, Burnham has to resign his seat which would be an act of political suicide. Then he has to be selected by the Makerfield CLP to stand.

Then there has to be a period of campaigning- followed by the actual election for the MP.

If he gets elected then he has to make a formal challenge to the PLP, who then have to approve that challenge and open it up to other candidates.

The time scale could take six months to a year, even if it all goes for Burnham.

In which time why don't we just let Starmer get on with the job he was elected to do?

Casdon

I’m not sure if the morals of politicians have declined, or whether the opportunities have increased, and/or whether an awful lot went on behind the scenes in the past that the public just weren’t made aware of?

Yes probably. Of course leaks took a lot longer to make it to the public domain too. With the Internet, a leak can have been suggested, verified, refuted, etc just in time for the next one to appear.
The evidence of people in power not paying tax at the appropriate time e.g. AR or ZP might never have been discovered if it wasn’t so easy to search it on the Internet.

This is completely illogical but as a critic of Starmer from the beginning, I am hoping that he will take the opportunity to improve his communication skills. I am very unimpressed with the self serving in politics and Burnham has even less appeal.

ronib

Does it take at least 3 months to hold a by-election ? Starmer won’t resign so is it business as usual until Burnham is elected to the House, if he is? Feels a bit messy? Even then, no guarantee that Burnham will be voted in as pm.

The legislative programme will go ahead, no doubt, and I suspect that the press will lay off Starmer as they scrabble about to find any dirt to dish on Burnham.

The UK isn’t about to fall apart…

Does it take at least 3 months to hold a by-election ? Starmer won’t resign so is it business as usual until Burnham is elected to the House, if he is? Feels a bit messy? Even then, no guarantee that Burnham will be voted in as pm.

Casdon

I’m not sure if the morals of politicians have declined, or whether the opportunities have increased, and/or whether an awful lot went on behind the scenes in the past that the public just weren’t made aware of?

...or whether the opportunities have increased...

You make a valid point.

The flesh is weak (so to speak). And politicians were by no means immune.

However, I believe their ability to 'do the job' was more... professional?

I’m not sure if the morals of politicians have declined, or whether the opportunities have increased, and/or whether an awful lot went on behind the scenes in the past that the public just weren’t made aware of?

I agree.
Though as I get older, and more things emerge, some of them were not as snow white as they would have had us believe.

I think Grantanow's point is the crux of the matter, personally.
I think morals in the Country had declined generally. And therefore of Politicans too. Hence the revolving doors.

Grantanow

A more fundamental problem is the poor quality of the political class of all parties in the Commons compared with previous generations.

Absolutely!

I remember a time when it was quite possible to respect members of a party you would never actually vote for.

Or was it EPC? Something like that

valdali

Highest growth in the 3 months to March....

A bit biased to just pick out one quarter!
I suppose you are trying to say she has turned things around.

AI Overview In early 2026, Spain is leading growth among major European economies with a 2.7% annual expansion, significantly outpacing Germany (+0.3%) and France (+1.1%). Overall, the EU economy grew by 1.5% in 2025, with strong performances from smaller nations, while the UK saw a 1.4% annual GDP increase by early 2026.Key European Economic Growth & GDP Trends (2025–2026)Top Performers: In 2025, Ireland led with +12.3% GDP growth, followed by Malta (+4.0%) and Cyprus (+3.8%).Spain's Surge: Spain is outperforming other eurozone heavyweights with 2.7% annual growth in Q1 2026, supported by high domestic demand.Major Economies (2026 Projections): Germany remains Europe's largest economy ($5.4 trillion), followed by the UK ($4.3 trillion) and France ($3.6 trillion).Eurozone Performance: The Eurozone and EU saw similar growth of roughly 1.5% in 2025.UK Growth: The UK economy continues to grow at a modest pace, estimated to have grown 1.4% annually in 2025. Source EEC