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Andy Burnham quit as Shadow Home Secretary live on stage during his speech to Labour Party conference - sending a parting shot to Jeremy Corbyn over immigration policy.

He said he needs to devote all his attention to running for Mayor of Greater Manchester next year.

Mr Burnham had always made clear he would quit his post at some point without confirming when.

But in his speech he also condemned the behaviour of Labour over the last 12 months for making him “profoundly sad”.

“It’s time for me to turn my full focus to Greater Manchester,” he says.

“That’s why I can tell you all first today that I have asked Jeremy to plan for a new shadow cabinet without me. Though of course I will stay until it’s in place.

“The last 12 months have made me profoundly said.

“Sad that old friendships have been strained. Sad that some seem to prefer fighting each other to fighting the Tories.”

Mr Burnham announced his intention to stand for Mayor of Greater Manchester in May, as polls closed in the local elections.

He dismissed suggestions his support for several successive - and vastly different - Labour leaders made him inconsistent.

He said: "I have given my all to this Party and always put its interests above those of factions and personalities.

"And I have given exactly the same loyalty to all four of the Labour leaders I have served.

"Some say that makes me inconsistent.

"But, you know what Conference? I have an old-fashioned belief - that a Labour Government of any kind is a million times better for my constituents in Leigh than any Tory Government and that is more likely to happen if Labour is united."

Jeremy Corbyn made clear today that bringing down immigration numbers was not his top priority - focusing more on workers’ rights instead.

(Image: Leon Neal) (Image: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

But Mr Burnham said uncontrolled migration has brought “cuts to wages” and “job insecurity.”

“Labour voters in constituencies like mine are not narrow-minded and xenophobic,” he said.

“They have no problem with people coming here to work. But they do have a problem with people taking them for granted and with unlimited, unfunded, unskilled migration which damages their own living standards.

“And they have an even bigger problem with an out-of-touch elite who don’t seem to care about it.”

He added: “This party must fully face up to this fact: millions of lifelong Labour supporters voted to leave the EU and - let’s be honest - voted for change on immigration.

“We haven’t yet even begun to show to them that we understand why.”

Mr Burnham later denied his resignation was a blow to Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.

He told Radio 4: “As he begins to think about his new team, it’s right for me say it’s time for me to take a step back. Because I’ve been selected as candidate to be the first mayor of Greater Manchester.

“That’s now my priority, that’s where my full focus needs to be. So I know it’s the way of this world that everybody will say things like that, but it just isn’t true.”

(Image: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

He also called for an internal ‘stock take’ in the party - a review that would perhaps take place in a couple of years’ time, assessing how far the party had come in the polls and in terms of internal relationships.

He says that would make the party less inward-looking, and allow them to get on with the job of being the Opposition.