2 days ago
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Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) has blocked Andy Burnham’s request to seek selection for the Gorton and Denton byelection, setting off an immediate and furious row within the party.
In a vote of the 10-strong “officers’ group” of the NEC, only one person, Lucy Powell, the party deputy leader and a close ally of Burnham, voted to allow the Greater Manchester mayor to compete to be a candidate in the seat vacated by Andrew Gwynne last week.
The other eight members voted against the move, with the NEC chair, the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, abstaining.
The decision would appear to completely stop Burnham’s attempts to return to parliament in the short term, where he would be seen as a major rival to succeed Keir Starmer in the event of a challenge against the prime minister, whose personal poll ratings are disastrous.
Allies of Starmer characterised the NEC’s decision as simply upholding party rules that sitting mayors or police and crime commissioners should not be allowed to stand for parliament.
One Labour source said the meeting, described as “respectful and collegiate”, heard concerns about the cost of holding a mayoral byelection to replace Burnham two years into his term, and worries about a divisive campaign by Reform UK. But others in the party condemned the decision as paranoid and unlikely to shore up Starmer’s position.
“No 10 have chosen factionalism over what is in Keir’s interest,” one Labour source said. “What on earth is their plan if we lose the byelection and Wes [Streeting] goes for it?”
For all the decisiveness of the NEC vote, the decision will cause concern among a series of senior Labour figures who urged Starmer to allow Burnham to compete for the seat, including Angela Rayner, the former deputy leader, Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, and Sadiq Khan, the London mayor.
In a speech to the Labour north west regional conference on Sunday, Rayner said Burnham must be allowed to try for selection.
“I know my friend, the mayor, has put his name forward, and I believe the local members should get the choice, no stitch-ups,” Rayner said, speaking shortly before the decision was announced. “If they decide that’s who they want, I know he’d make a fantastic candidate to lead our Labour campaign.”
Supporters of Starmer had argued that Burnham running for parliament would destabilise the government. “At a time of great geopolitical tensions and in the middle of a cost of living crisis, the country would be aghast if the government turned inwards,” one Starmer ally said.
“The chaos and psychodramas of the Tories saw them kicked out of office. The country wants us to get on with governing. We don’t have time for endless speculation.”
“Politically, we would be giving up the certainty of a Labour mayor for the next two years,” the Starmer ally said. “We would be confident of winning again, but Reform would massively out-spend us and it would become a nasty, divisive contest. It would mean gambling with communities and people’s lives.
“We all know what this is about – Andy Burnham’s ambition. If political uncertainty caused a spike in bond rates then it could cost billions. That would be completely irresponsible.”
Burnham’s very open agitating has proved unpopular with some members of the government. Reacting to the NEC’s decision, one minister said: “You reap what you sow, Andy. It’s harvest time.”
