Andy Burnham has announced he intends to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election, in a decision that will send shockwaves through Westminster. The Greater Manchester Mayor said he had applied to Labour ’s National Executive Committee (NEC) for permission to seek selection for the contest on Saturday, to help mount the "strongest possible defence of what we stand for”. It follows Andrew Gwynne, the current MP announcing he was standing down for health reasons. Mr Gwynne was sacked as a