Key Facts

• Wes Streeting told BBC Newsnight that he would "be prepared" to trigger a Labour leadership contest to replace Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister as early as next week if the party wins the Makerfield by-election, citing the need to resolve "uncertainty and paralysis" in the Labour leadership.
• Streeting earlier told the BBC that he had the backing of the 81 Labour MPs he would need in order to launch a leadership challenge, and emphasized that any Labour leadership contest must not become a race of who can offer "the most expensive and popular pledges to the party faithful at the expense of the British people".
• Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester Mayor who is standing in the Makerfield by-election, will be able to initiate or join a leadership race if he wins and becomes an MP, something he is currently unable to do.
• Streeting resigned from government last month, accusing the prime minister of "drift" and a lack of vision, and has since set out his own vision for the economy, seeking to present himself as the financially responsible candidate who would encourage growth and bring taxes down.
• In a speech, Streeting contested Burnham's argument that the north of England had suffered from 40 years of "neoliberalism", stating that "it's more complicated than that" and that the region has been through several waves of change that have delivered genuine strengths, but also deep weaknesses.