Wes Streeting 'won't fight' Andy Burnham if he wins by-election as 'no one can beat him'

Wes Streeting "won't fight" Andy Burnham if he wins the Makerfield by-election as "no one can beat" him if he makes it back to Parliament.

Insiders who have worked with Mr Streeting have indicated there is a growing feeling of the Greater Manchester mayor being unbeatable in a leadership challenge for the top job.

However, a different source dismissed the rumours as "rubbish", arguing the former Health Secretary is focused on the challenge at hand, come what may.

Yesterday, Mr Streeting said he had "no regrets" after stepping down from the frontbench and put his support behind Mr Burnham, also a former Health Secretary, but under Gordon Brown, in the Makerfield by-election.

Reading out his resignation statement to the House of Commons, Mr Streeting painted a bleak picture for Labour unless it changed its direction as it was losing the fight against "nationalism".

He said: "We risk handing the keys of No10 to Reform.

"This is our fight. It's Andy Burnham's fight in Makerfield and it is Labour's fight for the soul of our country."

Wigan Council confirmed yesterday the Makerfield by-election will take place on Thursday, June 18.

What is happening in Westminster today?

Good morning, happy Thursday from the Politics Team at GB News.

Today, we are expecting to hear from the Chancellor Rachel Reeves on her Great British Summer Saving - which we expect to see tariffs cut on some food imports and free bus travel for children in August.

What we are not going to see if food price caps enforced on the supermarkets, after Ms Reeves backed down from the idea when retailers and the Bank of England pushed back on the idea.

We have already heard from Lucy Rigby MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury (update to come) and we'll be hearing from Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride in just under an hour.

Stay tuned for more politics updates throughout the day.