Andy Burnham has become the second shadow cabinet minister in two days to announce he is to leave Jeremy Corbyn’s frontbench.
Burnham said he was stepping down as shadow home secretary to concentrate on his campaign to be mayor of Greater Manchester. His announcement comes a day after Kelvin Hopkins said he wanted to step down as shadow culture secretary to return to the backbenches.
Burnham told the party’s conference in Liverpool: “It is time for me to turn my full focus to Greater Manchester. That’s why I can tell you all first today that I have asked Jeremy to plan a new shadow cabinet without me, although I will of course stay until it is in place.
“I have given my all to this party and always put its interests above those of factions and personalities. And I have given exactly the same loyalty to all four of the Labour leaders I have served.
“Out there, there’s a demand for big changes in the way this country is run. This party should be the voice for that change. So that’s why I am ready to leave Westminster. It’s time to make a change, to challenge the status quo from the outside. It’s time to get the voice of the north heard like it has never been heard before.”
Burnham also used his conference speech to strike a different tone on immigration from Corbyn, just hours before the leader planned to address the issue in his conference speech.
Earlier, Corbyn set out his view that people’s fears about immigration could be allayed by greater funding for public services in areas of high pressure, rather than controlling the numbers of new entries.
Burnham did not join in the mass resignations that triggered the leadership challenge against Corbyn and has been supportive of the leader since losing the contest against him last year.
However, his resignation leaves Corbyn with a big job to fill as he reshuffles his shadow cabinet in an attempt to bring greater unity to the party.
Hopkins, who was appointed after the resignations earlier in the summer, told a fringe meeting of the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy that he had told Corbyn he wanted to leave the frontbench.
“We must now have unity, even though it is difficult, and I’ve told Jeremy that I want to go back to the backbenches as soon as possible and support him from there. I have to say, I never expected to be shadow secretary of state for anything.”
Corbyn and his team are meeting possible candidates for a return to the shadow cabinet in the coming weeks.
One senior figure on the “soft left” centre of the party said he was thinking about returning but wanted a formal agreement with “terms and conditions” about policy and relations nailed down. A number were negotiating to return collectively and were still pushing for some elections to the shadow cabinet.
However, Corbyn has said he believes he can fill a frontbench without a need for elections.
