Suspended Labour MP Expected to Retire on Medical Grounds

A suspended Labour MP is expected to announce his retirement from parliament on medical grounds, triggering a by-election in Greater Manchester.
Andrew Gwynne, the MP for Gorton and Denton, is anticipated to make the announcement soon, according to breaking reports. The former Labour health minister is currently sitting as an independent following his suspension from the parliamentary Labour Party.
Mr Gwynne was removed from his ministerial role and suspended from Labour over offensive WhatsApp messages. He remains in the House of Commons as an independent MP while awaiting the outcome of a parliamentary standards investigation into his conduct.
The standards investigation concerns his behaviour in relation to those WhatsApp messages and is being carried out under parliamentary procedures for conduct.
His departure would create a vacancy in the Gorton and Denton seat, opening up a by-election contest in Greater Manchester. One potential political consequence of the vacancy is that it could provide an opportunity for Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to return to Westminster as an MP.
Mr Burnham would need to re-enter parliament in order to mount a challenge for the Labour leadership against Sir Keir Starmer. The current Labour leader’s position could in theory be challenged by Mr Burnham if the latter secured a seat in the House of Commons.
The story is still developing and additional details are expected to be published later.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​