Andy Burnham to run for Manchester mayor
Labour's shadow home secretary Andy Burnham is to enter the race for the Greater Manchester mayoralty.
Burnham failed in his bid to become Labour leader after the 2015 election, and has previously expressed an interest in running for the same role in Manchester: today a spokesman confirmed that he would seek the nomination.
An official statement is due later this afternoon.
Manchester will choose an elected mayor next May, when the roles of existing interim mayor and elected police and crime commissioner are merged.
Tony Lloyd, who currently holds both positions, is also expected to run for the Labour candidacy.
As MP for Leigh, Burnham has held several roles in his time in Parliament, most recently shadow home secretary, but he also served as health secretary while in government, and spent time as Labour's chief secretary to the Treasury.
He has also gained profile in the last few weeks for his own efforts to boost the campaign for justice for those who died in the Hillsborough disaster.
Burnham's decision comes just under two weeks after Labour's Sadiq Khan was elected mayor of London.
Khan nominated Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for the party's leadership, although he voted for Burnham.