Angela Rayner will support Andy Burnham being allowed to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election, following pressure from those close to the prime minister who want to see him blocked, it has been reported.
It comes after MP Andrew Gwynne’s controversial resignation on Friday, which triggered the Gordon and Denton by-election.
The Times reported the former deputy prime minister is encouraging Burnham to stand and is expected to share her support at the upcoming northwest regional Labour conference on Saturday.
Rayner has supported calls for members of the Labour Party to be able to decide its candidate for the position.
This puts pressure on Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC), where Sir Keir Starmer’s allies have been looking for opportunities to sideline Burnham, who is seen as potential competition for party leadership.
Several MPs have warned against the move on the grounds that it might prompt a risky and preventable internal Labour Party row.
Jo White, the chair of the Red Wall Group of Labour MPs, told the Times: “Let the north decide who their Labour candidate should be for the Gorton & Denton by-election. A London stitch-up will be a disaster for Labour.”
It is not yet clear if Burnham will step forward, but it has been suggested that he may line up Gary Neville, the Labour-supporting footballer, as his replacement.
Some Labour backbenchers are reported to have quietly indicated they would appreciate Burnham’s return, with one source saying it would be “lovely” and that things were “looking up” for the first time in 18 months.
Another said it would be “foolish” to block him from standing, warning that the party would be “completely finished” if it did so, the paper reported
David Lammy, the deputy prime minister, urged caution, telling the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast: “I don’t know if Andy really wants to get back into Westminster politics.
“He may do, and there’s much merit to him. But I would caution those often around folk that start to destabilise the ship and say that we can have a new leader. No, we can’t. Because immediately you’d be forced to have an election, premature probably.”
