Labour Party blocks Andy Burnham from standing as an MP

Labor has banned Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham from running for parliament, sparking a political backlash.

A 10-member panel of the party’s ruling National Executive Committee decided on Sunday that Burnham would not be allowed to end his term as mayor early and run in the upcoming Gorton and Denton byelections.

Their votes were eight to one against the resolution, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer one of those who voted ‘no’, according to a member of the National Electoral Committee.

Burnham said in a statement on Channel X that he was “disappointed” by the decision “and concerned about its potential impact on the important election ahead of us.”

He said he would return to his position as mayor on Monday “with full focus”, defending the progress made in Greater Manchester.

He added: “I decided to put myself forward to prevent the divisive politics of reform from harming this.” “We are stronger together and let’s keep it that way.”

On Sunday night, a letter to the Prime Minister objecting to the decision was circulated among Labor MPs. One of the signatories said that its organizers are collecting signatures with the aim of sending them within the next two days.

The Prime Minister’s allies feared that Burnham would continue to challenge him for the leadership of the party at a time when the right-wing populist British Reform Party, led by Nigel Farage, is rising in the opinion polls and gaining popularity in some areas of the Labor heartland.

Burnham became increasingly critical of Starmer as Labour’s position in the polls deteriorated. In recent months, he has been speaking to MPs about his possible return to Westminster to run for the party leadership.

A member of the National Elections Commission said: “It would be crazy and destabilizing to bring in someone who was openly maneuvering.”

The Labor leadership is bracing for the wrath of dozens of MPs who were supporting Burnham’s bid to return to Westminster.

A member of the National Elections Commission admitted that “there will be a major political reaction.”

In a note to party members, Labour’s general secretary, Holly Ridley, said NEC officers had refused to give Burnham permission to stand because it would lead to a costly by-election for mayor of Greater Manchester.

This would consume “significant financial and organizational resources at a time when the party faces competing priorities,” she wrote.

Candidates aspiring to the by-elections have until midnight on Sunday to submit their applications, and then the National Elections Commission will prepare a long list of names this week.

Interior Minister Shabana Mahmoud, who chairs the National Elections Commission, is believed to have abstained from voting. She said earlier on Sunday that Labor should avoid engaging in “psychodrama”.

She told Sky News: “My clear message to all my colleagues, whoever they are, in the Cabinet, elsewhere in the country, is that we have to decide whether we are going to indulge in psychodrama. I don’t want that.”

“I think we should take Andy at his word – he himself has said that the best person to be prime minister is Keir Starmer.”

Before the decision, the party’s deputy leader Lucy Powell, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan and former deputy leader Angela Rayner said the NEC should leave the decision to local party members.

Burnham, who previously served as a Labor MP, has been Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017 and was re-elected in 2024 by a large majority.

In a letter to the NEC on Saturday, he said he wanted to return to Westminster to help the government “move further and faster”, adding that he had assured Starmer that he would return to “support” his administration and not “undermine” it.

Some representatives supported the decision to reject it. A senior Labor MP said: “There has to be a very clear message to my old friend Andy: Complete the job you were elected to do. Don’t run and run. Don’t run away.”

“How do Labor explain to voters in Manchester that he will resign early? They appointed him in good conscience to serve a full term,” the person added.

“We could lose the mayor of Britain’s second-largest city to the UK Reform Party in a by-election we don’t need,” the NEC member said, adding that funding a strong campaign for mayor of Greater Manchester could cost around £1.5 million.

They said accepting Burnham as an MP would be damaging to Starmer because he had engaged in such public criticism of Labour’s leadership.

“If he hadn’t over the past year he’d been more critical of both Keir and things around Rachel [Reeves, the chancellor] Economic policies. . . I think he could have come back and would be a great asset. I actually think that at some point in the future it could be a possibility [prime minister]”.

The move to block Burnham’s Westminster bid is likely to spark intense infighting in Labor and could increase the chances of her losing the Gorton and Denton by-election to the Reform Party or the Greens, some MPs fear.

“if [the NEC] One MP said: “I think they can stop him without the Labor Party exploding into disunity, they are crazy. Stopping him would probably cause him to lose the by-election and Keir would have to bear that personally.”

Another MP said: “The party has to get the best possible candidate. If you look at the polls, that candidate is Andy.”

Veteran left-wing Labor MP Diane Abbott told Times Radio the decision would “cause an uproar”, adding: “It’s really damaging to Starmer’s standing in the party… They’ve kind of underestimated how damaging it will be.”