'You're stuck with me': Labour fears losing byelection and Burnham returns to work

Dear Millers – it's been a weekend of high drama in Manchester, with Andy Burnham making a break for Westminster and then being ruthlessly blocked from standing by Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour machine.

Several Mill staff members disappointed family members over the weekend by forgoing them in favour of taking calls from gossipy Labour powerbrokers and exchanging WhatsApp messages with fearful local councillors, all in service of bringing you the latest insights. Jack Dulhanty even spent this morning staking Burnham out at an event at the Whitworth like a frenzied member of the paparazzi… you’ll hear more about that further down.

So what’s next for Burnham? Who is going to stand for Labour in what will be one of the most high-profile and cacophonous byelections in recent memory? And who is expected to win? We've got all of that below.

Before that, in case you missed it, our weekend read about HOME, which shone a light on the recent huge exodus of staff there, has been pulling in the punters. Over 40 people signed up to read it over the weekend, and if you’re a punter who hasn’t yet pulled in, take this as your cue. It promises revelations about the continued fallout of a cancelled-then-uncancelled Gaza event at the organisation two years ago, and the untimely death of not one but two hives of bees.

What else last week? We were excited to introduce you to a new writer, Cameron Baillie, who reached out to us with a searching question a few months back: why is everyone’s nan Irish? What he produced was a fantastic piece which doubles as an investigation into that question and an ode to the mammies of Manchester. Then on Friday we went a little off-piste, alighting upon a topic few of you were likely expecting to see in these pages: Andy Burnham and his attempt to stand in the Gorton and Denton seat. So thank you for indulging us there.