Labour’s ruling body has blocked Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham from seeking the party’s nomination in the Gorton and Denton by-election, citing the cost and risk of triggering a separate mayoral contest ahead of major elections in May — a move likely to inflame tensions inside the party.
Burnham, one of Labour’s most high-profile figures and widely regarded as a potential leadership rival to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, said he wanted to stand to replace Andrew Gwynne, the sitting MP who resigned last week on health grounds.
- Advertisement -
In a statement, the party said directly elected mayors and police and crime commissioners “must seek the express permission” of Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) before pursuing a Westminster nomination — a rule it said was designed “to avoid the party incurring unnecessary costs of running two simultaneous political campaigns.”
The NEC concluded that allowing Burnham to run would force an “unnecessary election for the position of Greater Manchester mayor” with a “substantial and disproportionate impact on party campaign resources before the local elections and elections to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd in May.” While saying it would be confident of retaining the mayoralty, the NEC added it “could not put Labour’s control of Greater Manchester at any risk.”
The party praised Burnham’s performance in office, calling him “a great job as mayor of Greater Manchester,” and said avoiding a separate mayoral vote would save “substantial amounts of taxpayers’ money and resources that are better spent tackling the cost of living crisis.” It said it looked forward to “fighting and winning the upcoming by-election in Gorton and Denton” with a “positive campaign” focused on the cost of living and bringing investment to the area.
The decision is expected to draw backlash from parts of the party after several senior figures argued local members should decide whether Burnham could stand. Among them were Deputy Labour Leader Lucy Powell — herself an NEC member — and Cabinet minister Ed Miliband, who told a conference in London on Saturday that members should have the final say.
Burnham, a former cabinet minister under Gordon Brown, had formally asked the NEC for permission. In a letter to the ruling body, he described the Gorton and Denton contest as “the front line” of a fight against “a brand of politics which seeks to pit people against each other,” adding, “I owe it to a city which has given me so much to lead it from the front, despite the risks involved.”
The block sidelines one of Labour’s most recognisable regional leaders from a rapid return to Westminster and underscores the party’s determination to protect key mayoralties and husband resources ahead of a crowded electoral calendar. It also sets up a likely internal debate over how much discretion local members should have when high-profile officeholders seek to switch roles.
Labour has not yet selected its candidate for Gorton and Denton. The timing of the by-election follows Gwynne’s resignation announced Thursday on health grounds.
The party has framed the NEC’s decision as a pragmatic choice made in the broader interests of electoral planning and public cost, even as allies of Burnham argue the membership should have been allowed to adjudicate on one of Labour’s most prominent potential contenders.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
