Robert Peston

Statement from Amazon MGM Studios: “The search for the next James Bond is underway. While we don’t plan to comment on specific details during the casting process, we’re excited to share more news with 007 fans as soon as the time is right.”

The prime minister’s survival is probably now in the hands of his former deputy, Angela Rayner. Now that she has been absolved of wrongdoing by HMRC, his get-out-of-jail is to offer her the health job vacated by Streeting or perhaps any job she wants. She is strong enough to dictate terms, because she represents a large part of the parliamentary Labour Party that wants him out. So if she throws him a lifeline, they may too. I am imagining the conversation in which Rayner says to the PM that she fancies being Chancellor of the Exchequer and she is sure Rachel Reeves would excel as health secretary. This is currently all the stuff of fiction, except that whether Rayner agrees to take any job from Starmer is potentially life or death for him

Josh is an MP and a dad to young kids, just like me. He's helped to prove that parenthood and politics can mix, and break down barriers for working dads. I wish him the very best. We are in a battle for the heart and soul of this country against right-wing populism. So this by-election is one we absolutely must go on to win. As a proud Northerner, I want somebody to run who can stand up and fight for our progressive values against Reform in Makerfield. Andy Burnham must therefore be given the opportunity to stand, and must not be blocked, so that we can come together to send Reform packing.

I can confirm that I will be requesting the permission of the NEC to stand in the Makerfield by-election. I grew up in this area and have lived here for 25 years. I care deeply about it and its people. I know they have been let down by national politics. Ten years ago, I decided to leave Westminster. Why? Because, after 16 years, I came to the conclusion that our national political system does not work for areas like ours. I learnt this fighting its failure to invest in the Wigan borough, for justice for the Hillsborough families and against its treatment of Greater Manchester during the pandemic. Over the last decade, I have been challenging this failure from the outside and building a new and better way of doing politics. We have built Greater Manchester into the fastest-growing city-region in the UK and put buses back under public control, introducing a £2 fare cap to help people with cost-of-living pressures. However, there is only so much that can be done from Greater Manchester. Much bigger change is needed at a national level if everyday life is to be made more affordable again. This is why I now seek people’s support to return to Parliament: to bring the change we have brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and make politics work properly for people. Millions are struggling and they need the Labour Government to succeed. It has already made changes to make life better for them in its first two years. After this week, we owe it to people to come back together as a Labour movement, giving the Prime Minister and the Government the space and stability they need as the by-election takes place. I want to recognise the difficult decision taken by Josh Simons and the sacrifice he and his family are making. I have worked closely with him as Mayor on issues like flooding and illegal waste dumping and have seen first-hand how effective he has been. He has put the communities of Makerfield first, made a real difference for them and should take great pride in that. Finally, I truly do not take a single vote for granted and will work hard to regain the trust of people in the Makerfield constituency, many of whom have long supported our party but lost faith in recent times. We will change Labour for the better and make it a party you can believe in again. ENDS

For decades, Westminster has overseen the managed decline of towns like mine. We have talked big, then acted small, stuck in a politics of incrementalism that cannot meet the moment. We have lost the trust of those our party was built to serve. It is my unwavering belief that nothing short of urgent, radical, courageous reform will make a difference. That must start with a change in leadership. Today, I am putting the people I represent and the country I love first and will be resigning as MP for Makerfield. I am standing aside so that Andy Burnham can return to his home, fight to re-enter Parliament, and if elected, drive the change our country is crying out for. This has not been an easy decision. This is my family’s home, where only a few weeks ago, doctors and nurses at Wigan Infirmary saved our newborn son’s life. But we all must make choices and in recent days I found myself with a difficult one: defend the status quo or step forward and act. I have made my choice. I am in politics because politics is how you change lives for the better. My party has one last chance to do that: deliver for the people and places I represent, drive economic growth, secure our borders, reform our state and politics, and change a status quo that is not working. That is the fight. I believe Andy is the one to lead it.

This is Streeting’s trenchant critique of Keir Starmer “But where we need vision, we have a vacuum. Where we need direction, we have drift. This was underscored by your speech on Monday. Leaders take responsibility, but too often that has meant other people falling on their swords. You also need to listen to your colleagues, including backbenchers, and the heavy-handed approach to dissenting voices diminishes our politics.”

Streeting resigns as health secretary. Here is crucial last two paragraphs of his letter to the prime minister, asking him to facilitate a leadership election to replace him “I t is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election and thatLabour MPs and Labour Unions want the debate about what comes next to be a battle of ideas, not of personalities or petty factionalism. It needs to be broad, and it needs the best possible field of candidates. I support that approach and I hope that you will facilitate this. Serving as your Secretary o f State for Health and Social Care has been the greatest joy of my life and, regardless of our differences this week, I remain truly grateful to you for the opportunity to serve and I am deeply saddened to be leaving government i n this way.”