Andy Burnham has said he is “disappointed” after Labour’s governing body blocked him from standing as an MP at the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election.
Mr Burnham formally requested permission to stand for the contest on Saturday. As mayor of Manchester, he needed permission to contest a different political election.
Mr Burnham’s return to Westminster was seen by many as a potential challenge to Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership.
Labour‘s National Executive Committee (NEC) voted to block the mayor’s request on Sunday.
Sky News understands the 10-person panel voted eight to one to block Mr Burnham’s bid, with only Deputy Leader Lucy Powell backing him. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, chair of the NEC – Labour’s governing body – abstained.
Sir Keir Starmer voted personally to block Andy Burnham’s bid to return to Westminster as an MP. Pic: Reuters
The prime minister was among those voting against Mr Burnham, joined by union figures and other Labour Party representatives.
Mr Burnham said he was “disappointed” by the decision, and said he was “concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us”.
But, he added: “To whoever is Labour’s candidate and to our members in Manchester and Tameside: you will have my full support and I will be there whenever you need me.”
A statement from the party said the reason behind the decision was the cost of running the campaigns for both a parliamentary seat and a Manchester mayoralty by-election.
It said: “Directly elected mayors and police and crime commissioners must seek the express permission of Labour’s ruling body, the National Executive Committee, before seeking nomination as a Labour candidate for the Westminster parliament in accordance with chapter 5, clause IV, 2 of the Labour Party rule book.
“This rule was put in place to avoid the party incurring unnecessary costs of running two simultaneous political campaigns.
“Yesterday, Andy Burnham sought such permission from the NEC to stand in the Gorton and Denton parliamentary by-election, which would have led to a mayoral by-election in Greater Manchester. The NEC has decided not to grant Andy Burnham permission to stand.”
The statement continued: “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.
“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.
“We look forward to fighting and winning the upcoming by-election in Gorton and Denton and the positive campaign ahead which will be firmly focused on tackling the cost of living and bringing investment to the local area.”
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Opponents of the move – mainly on the left of the party – were quick to voice their displeasure.
Louise Haigh, the former transport secretary, said: “This is an incredibly disappointing decision.
“There’s no point pretending we don’t have a problem connecting with the public at the minute.
“The leadership should not feel threatened by having one of the most popular politicians in the country as part of the national team.
“It’s not too late to change course and make the right decision. Otherwise I think we’ll all come to regret this.”
