Andy Burnham to stand in Greater Manchester mayoral election

'For me this is a cabinet-level job which needs cabinet-level experience. And it needs somebody who is going to devote themselves to it and grab it with both hands'

Mr Burnham has been criticised for his comments in which he appeared to criticise freedom of movement (Getty)

Labour frontbencher Andy Burnham has confirmed his intention to run for the mayor of Greater Manchester.

Mr Burnham, a former Labour leadership contender and Shadow Home Secretary, has been MP for Leigh in Greater Manchester since 2001 and the role would give him the chance for one of the biggest jobs in local government in England.

Confirming his intention to run for the position, he said he would leave the Commons if elected.

In an interview with the Guardian he added: “For me this is a cabinet-level job which needs cabinet-level experience. And it needs somebody who is going to devote themselves to it and grab it with both hands.”

“The biggest mistake would be to underplay [English devolution] and to carry on and say: ‘Westminster’s where it’s at, that’s where everything happens and you’re not really a serious politician unless you’re in Westminster.”

“I’m making a break with this thinking by announcing my candidacy for the mayor of Greater Manchester. I think I can do more for the people I care about, here, by being here rather than there, given this change. I am thinking that the time has come – Westminster has become a bit of an irrelevance for some people and we really need to change the way politics works.”

According to the newspaper he had hoped to announce his candidacy at the Lowry Centre in Salford Quays later this week – though his team accidently changed Mr Burnham’s 2015 Labour leadership Twitter handle from @andy4leader to @andy4manchester.

The Twitter profile adds: “The official account of Andy Burnham's campaign to be Labour's candidate for Mayor of Greater Manchester”.

Former Labour MP Tony Lloyd is serving as the interim mayor of the combined authority until the first election for the role in 2017. Mr Burnham's move comes after it emerged shadow cabinet minister Luciana Berger is considering running for the new "metro mayor" role in Liverpool.

The two roles are among the most powerful local government posts in England. Labour's Sadiq Khan secured the London mayoralty for the party earlier this month.

When rumours emerged that Mr Burnham was considering running for the position in Greater Manchester, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said he wanted his colleague to “stay on”.

“I can see why people in the North are approaching him because he’s such a good advocate for the North and he’s been such a tremendous MP in Parliament and a good frontbencher,” he told Sky News.

“If he goes, it would be a real loss to parliament, it would be a loss to the Labour party as we go into government in 2020, but I can see why people are approaching him: they want a strong voice and we’ll be devolving more powers to the regions...

"I’d want him to stay on and be the Home Secretary when we go back into power because I think he’s such a tremendous asset for the Labour party but I know how dedicated he is, not just to his constituency but how he’s been a dedicated advocate for the North as well... I can see how he’s tempted by that and why others are saying ‘why not think about it?’.”