Labour row erupts after Andy Burnham blocked from byelection race

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 this 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.A Labour statement said that under party rules, sitting mayors or police and crime commissioners must seek permission to stand for parliament. “The NEC has decided not to grant Andy Burnham permission to stand,” it said.“The NEC believes that causing an unnecessary election for the position of Greater Manchester mayor would have a substantial and disproportionate impact on party campaign resources ahead of the local elections and elections to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd in May. Although the party would be confident of retaining the mayoralty, the NEC could not put Labour’s control of Greater Manchester at any risk.It added: “Andy Burnham is doing a great job as mayor of Greater Manchester. We believe it is in the best interests of the party to avoid an unnecessary mayoral election which would use substantial amounts of taxpayers’ money and resources that are better spent tackling the cost of living crisis.”The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, was the only one of 10 NEC members to abstain from the vote. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/APAllies of Starmer characterised the NEC’s decision as simply upholding party rules. But those who had urged Starmer to allow Burnham to stand said the decision was a calamitous mistake.One source on the party’s soft left said: “No 10 have chosen factionalism over what’s right for the party. They will have to change course, not least once they realise they will lose the byelection without Andy.”There was no immediate reaction from Burnham. But Mainstream, the left-leaning Labour group associated with the Greater Manchester mayor and other senior figures such as Powell, said: “Labour must reverse this decision if it is serious about putting country before party. We urge the party to reconsider in the interests of taking on Reform and building the strongest possible team in Westminster.”Another Labour source said the NEC meeting, described as “respectful and collegiate”, had 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.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.The former Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner called for ‘no stitch-ups’ in the process during a speech in Liverpool on Sunday. Photograph: Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images“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.”