LONDON, May 14 (Reuters) - British Labour lawmaker Josh Simons on Thursday said he would ‌resign from his seat in parliament in ‌a move designed to give Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham ​a chance to return to parliament and challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

"Today, I am putting the people I represent and the country I love first ‌and will be ⁠resigning as MP for Makerfield," Simons wrote on X.

"I am standing aside so ⁠that Andy Burnham can return to his home, fight to re-enter Parliament, and if elected, drive ​the change ​our country is crying ​out for."

Earlier on Thursday, ‌Labour's Wes Streeting resigned as health minister and called for a leadership contest to oust Starmer.

Simons cannot transfer the seat to Burnham. Instead, a special election would have to be held to ‌replace him, in which other ​parties can also compete.

Simons ​won the Makerfield ​seat in Greater Manchester at the ‌2024 election with a majority ​of 5,399 ​votes over a candidate from Nigel Farage's Reform UK party.

Since that vote, Reform's popularity has ​risen sharply as ‌Labour's has dipped, meaning the seat will ​likely be tightly contested.

(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti, ​writing by William James)