Burnham accuses No 10 sources of lying about byelection decision

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 3 min read 100% complete by Alexandra Topping Political correspondentJanuary 27, 2026 at 03:00 PM

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A dispute has erupted within the Labour party over the Gorton and Denton byelection. Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham accused Downing Street sources of lying about his decision to seek nomination for the seat. Burnham claims reports that he was explicitly blocked from running are untrue, prompting him to seek clarification from Number 10. Approximately 50 Labour MPs objected to the decision to prevent Burnham from standing. Keir Starmer defended the decision, citing the need to focus resources on mandatory elections rather than triggering an unnecessary mayoral election. Meanwhile, Reform UK faced criticism for campaigning in the wrong constituency as the battle for the Gorton and Denton seat intensifies. Labour is expected to select its candidate for the February 26th byelection on Saturday.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Ashton-under-Lyne 40% Downing Street 50% Steve Reed 50% Lee Anderson 50% Angela Rayner 50% Manchester ×260% Robert Peston ×260% Reform UK ×270% Keir Starmer ×380% Gorton and Denton ×380% Labour Party ×690% Andy Burnham ×790%

Keywords

byelection 100% labour party 90% andy burnham 80% keir starmer 70% internal conflict 70% gorton and denton 60% political briefing 50% reform uk 50% mayoral election 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.30

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Source

The Guardian - World News

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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byelection labour party andy burnham keir starmer internal conflict gorton and denton political briefing reform uk mayoral election

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