Andy Burnham nominated as Labour's candidate to be mayor of Manchester

He will stand down as an MP at the 'first and earliest opportunity' if he wins the contest in 2017

The former Home Secretary is also in conflict with Labour policy over the free movement of people (Getty)

Andy Burnham has succeeded in his bid to become the Labour candidate for the mayor of Greater Manchester.

Party members had until Friday to cast their vote for their preferred candidate and the mayoral election will take place in 2017 at the same time as scheduled local elections in May. The shadow Home Secretary emerged with 3,792 votes on a turnout of 65 per cent.

He triumphed over the interim mayor Tony Lloyd, who had 2,163 votes, and former minister Ivan Lewis to secure the nomination.

Mr Bunham, who last year unsucessfully ran for the Labour leadership, said he is prepared to leave the House of Commons, where he has sat as an MP since 2001, should he emerge victorious in the overall contest next year. It will also mean he will leave Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow Cabinet.

Speaking shortly after his nomination Mr Burnham offered his “heartfelt thanks” to the people of Manchester. He added: “I will now repay that faith by devoting all of my energy to the task ahead.”

“Firstly the task of bringing our family, the Labour family of Greater Manchester together to unite us. Secondly to work to win back those Labour voters across Manchester we have lost. And third to develop a policy offer going forward for the election next year of broad appeal…a policy that tackles the housing crisis and gives hope to younger people,” he added.

"Today, I have a clear message for the Prime Minister - you and your party were elected on a series of promises to the North of England and I will not let you walk away from them.

"You promised us a powerhouse and now you must give us the tools and investment to build it."

He said he would stand down as an MP at the "first and earliest opportunity" if he wins the race to become mayor, as appears likely given that almost all of Manchester's council seats are filled by Labour.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "Congratulations to Andy Burnham on being selected as Labour's candidate for Greater Manchester metro mayor. This will be an opportunity for Labour to take its message for social justice to the region's two million voters in next year's election.

"It's crucial that we have a mayor willing to do everything possible to improve the lives of everyone in Greater Manchester and in Andy we have that candidate."