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Andy Burnham has been blocked from standing as a candidate for an upcoming parliamentary by-election in Gorton and Denton by Labour’s ruling body.<\/p>\n
As a directly elected mayor, Burnham had to get approval from Labour’s national executive committee (NEC), after he applied to be a candidate on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Labour sources have told the BBC lots of concerns were raised about the costs of an election to replace Burnham as Greater Manchester mayor and the “prospect of a divisive campaign”.<\/p>\n
But allies of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer feared Burnham – a former cabinet minister – could mount a leadership challenge, should he return to Westminster.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The move is likely to infuriate Labour MPs and some ministers who said local party members should have had the option of choosing the Greater Manchester mayor as the candidate.<\/p>\n
It is a big political gamble by allies of the prime minister and risks inflaming tensions within the party, which is consistently trailing Reform UK in national opinion polls.<\/p>\n
One senior Labour source who had been supportive of Burnham’s candidacy said: “They’re gambling the PM’s whole premiership on winning a very hard by-election without their best candidate. It is madness.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The decision was made by 10 members of the NEC, including Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, party chair Ellie Reeves and the prime minister himself on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n
NEC sources told the BBC the vote was 8-1 in favour of blocking Burnham’s candidacy.<\/p>\n
The prime minister was among those who voted to block Burnham from standing.<\/p>\n
Mahmood abstained as the chair, while Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell voted to allow him to stand.<\/p>\n
Sir Keir’s allies say Burnham is doing “a very good job” as mayor of Greater Manchester, adding a mayoral by election “would cost the party hundreds of thousands of pounds” and “cost the country millions of pounds during a cost-of-living crisis”.<\/p>\n
The prime minister’s supporters were worried Reform UK “would outspend us ten to one” during the by-election campaign.<\/p>\n
The argument those who blocked Burnham intend to make publicly is that during a period of geopolitics dominating the headlines and deep concerns about the cost of living at home, there would be no appetite in the country for a “return to political psychodramas of the Tory years”.<\/p>\n
There was “overwhelming support” in the meeting “for upholding clear Labour Party rules preventing mayors and PCCs standing in by-elections”, a source said.<\/p>\n
Earlier, Mahmood told the BBC allowing elected mayors to run as candidates in parliamentary by-elections had “organisational implications” for the party.<\/p>\n
A mayoral election in Greater Manchester could also be costly for the taxpayer, with the last one costing about \u00a34.7m.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n