We call on all Labour MPs in Greater Manchester who do not hold senior posts within government or party to identify one among them who will resign their seat in order to trigger a by-election in which Andy Burnham may stand.

We judge that ongoing events make this situation urgent, and that if Burnham is not in Parliament in the near future, he will be excluded from any upcoming leadership contest.

We note that Andy Burnham remains the UK's most popular politician, as recorded by YouGov, and is seen by the electorate as the only Labour politician who would make a better Prime Minister than Keir Starmer. We further note that Wes Streeting appears at the very bottom of this list.

We further note that Andy Burnham's performance as Mayor of Greater Manchester is an example of the radical, progressive alternative Labour exists to provide. 

Any leadership election that takes place without him would be an act of party self-sabotage, yet he is ineligible without a seat in Parliament.

We therefore call on these backbench and junior Labour MPs in Greater Manchester to identify one among them who will step down in order to give him the opportunity to stand in the resulting by-election:

Elsie Blundell MP (Heywood and Middleton North) 
Phil Brickell MP (Bolton West)
Kirith Entwistle MP (Bolton North East)
James Frith MP (Bury North)
Mike Kane MP (Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Afzal Khan MP (Manchester Rusholme)
Rebecca Long-Bailey MP (Salford)
Jim McMahon MP (Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Navenda Mishra MP (Stockport)
Jo Platt MP (Leigh and Atherton)
Yasmin Qureshi MP (Bolton South and Walkden)
Connor Rand MP (Altrincham and Sale West)
Josh Simons MP (Makerfield)
Jeff Smith MP (Manchester Withington)
Graham Stringer MP (Blackley and Middleton South)
Christian Wakeford MP (Bury South)
Paul Waugh MP (Rochdale)
Andrew Western MP (Stretford and Urmston)
Michael Wheeler MP (Worsley and Eccles)