Andrew Gwynne has announced he will stand down as an MP for medical reasons.

The suspended Labour MP confirmed he will stand down from his Gorton and Denton constituency, citing health reasons.

This paves the way for Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to potentially run in a by-election in the Gorton and Denton constituency.

In a post on Facebook, the MP wrote: “It has been the honour of my life to have been an elected representative for almost exactly three decades, representing my home community firstly as a Denton West Councillor on Tameside Council and then in the House of Commons as MP for Denton and Reddish and more recently for Gorton and Denton.

“Over those years I haven’t got everything right and I’ve certainly made mistakes, but I’ve always tried my very best and I have helped tens of thousands of constituents with their issues along the way. Indeed it’s been helping people that’s given me the greatest pleasure in these jobs.”

Mr Gwynne said he had “suffered significant ill-health over most of the 21 years I’ve served as an MP”, which had been “greatly exacerbated by the impact of last year’s events regarding leaked text messages”.

He shared a message from his GP about his ongoing health problems which read: “I do not think that he will be able to safely return to work as an MP.”

Mr Gwynne added: “I have therefore applied to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to seek the office of Crown Steward of the Manor of Northstead, an archaic procedure to be able to vacate my seat as an MP. There will be a by-election soon and I wish my successor, whoever it is, all the very best in representing what I consider to be the best constituency in the UK.”

Gwynne was sacked as a minister and suspended from the Labour Party last year when a newspaper reported offensive messages in a WhatsApp group.

Greater Manchester mayor Mr Burnham is said to be seeking a Commons comeback to challenge the Prime Minister’s position.

Mr Burnham, who has served as mayor of the region since 2017, has argued for a Westminster revamp and hit out at the current system of governing.

He has repeatedly refused to rule out challenging for the leadership of the Labour Party.

Sir Keir has previously dismissed talk of leadership challenges as “wasted” time.