Andy Burnham

A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Gorton and Denton was held on 26 February 2026, following the resignation of Andrew Gwynne on health grounds. Gwynne was sitting as an independent following suspension from the Labour Party for sending offensive WhatsApp messages.

Andrew Murray Burnham is a British politician who has served as Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017. He previously served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Leigh from 2001 to 2017, during which time he was Secretary of State for Health from 2009 to 2010, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport from 2008 to 2009 and Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2007 to 2008. A member of the Labour and Co-operative Party, Burnham identifies as a socialist on the soft left of the Labour Party.

British Labour Party leadership election