Andy Burnham confirmed as Labour candidate in Makerfield by-election

Labour's national executive committee has confirmed Andy Burnham as the party's candidate for the Makerfield by-election, with no other candidates shortlisted for the seat.

Burnham, who has served as Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017, will contest the by-election widely expected to take place on June 18, pending confirmation by Commons authorities. The poll was triggered by the resignation of Labour MP Josh Simons, who stepped down to create the opportunity for Burnham to stand in the constituency.

Labour confirmed that other candidates had applied to stand in Makerfield but were not shortlisted. Burnham will face Reform UK's Robert Kenyon, a plumber who was the party's candidate in the general election and has been confirmed as Reform's candidate for the by-election.

In a statement, Burnham called on Labour to acknowledge that "the party has not been good enough". His candidacy has been widely interpreted as positioning him for a potential leadership challenge within the party.

Separately, Jeremy Wright, the Conservative deputy chair of the intelligence and security committee, challenged the government's handling of Mandelson file redactions during parliamentary proceedings. Wright said the committee had "considerable sympathy" with the government's arguments for redactions that went beyond those allowed by the humble address, but stated the government cannot unilaterally alter the terms of the address without House consent.

Wright argued that if the government believes the humble address is too broad and needs refinement, it must return to Parliament to make that case and obtain the House's approval for any changes. In response, government minister Jones referred to earlier comments justifying redactions of personal data and the government's refusal to provide the intelligence and security committee with information relating to Mandelson's own security vetting. The government has indicated that documents will be released in June.