Burnham steps down from shadow cabinet

Borough MP Andy Burnham has resigned from Labour's shadow cabinet to focus his efforts on becoming Greater Manchester mayor.
Leigh MP Andy BurnhamLeigh MP Andy Burnham
Leigh MP Andy Burnham

He is expected to step down from being an MP if he wins the mayoral vote in 2017.

Mr Burnham told Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool on Wednesday: “This is my tenth Conference speaking to you as a cabinet or shadow cabinet minister. And it will be my last.

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“It is time for me to turn my full focus to Greater Manchester. That’s why I can tell you all first today that I have asked Jeremy to plan a new Shadow Cabinet without me, although I will of course stay until it is in place.

“I have given my all to this Party and always put its interests above those of factions and personalities. And I have given exactly the same loyalty to all four of the Labour leaders I have served.

“Out there, there’s a demand for big changes in the way this country is run. This Party should be the voice for that change. So that’s why I am ready to leave Westminster. It’s time to make a change, to challenge the status quo from the outside. It’s time to get the voice of the North heard like it has never been heard before.”