'Why I stood down as an MP for Andy Burnham'

The MP who has stepped down as an MP to allow Andy Burnham a chance to challenge the prime minister has said it "was too big an opportunity to miss".

Josh Simons, the Makerfield Labour MP, told BBC Radio Manchester he spoke to Burnham earlier this week, adding: "I just couldn't say no".

Simons stood down on Thursday, allowing the Greater Manchester mayor to put himself forward as a parliamentary candidate.

He won the seat by 5,399 votes over Reform candidate Robert Kenyon at the last election.

The 32-year-old father-of-three, who has only been an MP for two years, said stepping aside was the "most difficult decision of my life".

Simons added: "It was a decision I took with my wife. We decided as a family.

"We've been speaking about this for a few days. It's been incredibly fast, if I'm honest.

He added the Labour Party had been "imploding".

"We were heading for a leadership election with the Labour Party spit into different factions, and there was no hope, no energy that anything would change…"

He added that the Wigan area was "where Andy Burnham has lived for 25 years" and that he was "coming home".

He said "Labour needs to change and the whole government needs to change".