Andy Burnham has been blocked from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election, sources close to Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) have said.
NEC sources told the Press Association there had been a “very clear majority” against allowing Mr Burnham from applying for selection in the seat due to concerns about the cost of fighting a mayoral by-election in Greater Manchester.
The decision was made by a 10-strong sub-group of the NEC, chaired by the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Sunday morning.
Blocking Mr Burnham is likely to provoke anger from some parts of the Labour Party after several senior figures called for local members to have the final say on whether he should stand.
They included deputy leader Lucy Powell, herself an NEC member, and Cabinet minister Ed Miliband, who had both told a conference in London on Saturday that the decision should be left to members.
A Labour backbencher told the Press Association the decision was “a total shitshow” and “utter nonsense”, predicting the party would now lose the Gorton and Denton by-election.
Although previous MP Andrew Gwynne won the constituency comfortably in 2024, the collapse in Labour’s polling numbers since then means the party now faces a tough fight with Reform UK and the Green Party to retain the seat.
Other Labour MPs backed the decision, however, urging the party to avoid infighting and move on to winning the by-election.
Phil Brickell, who represents the Greater Manchester constituency of Bolton West, said speculation about Mr Burnham’s candidacy in recent days had “seen the Labour Party quickly turn inward… undermining the PM’s efforts at home and abroad”.
Rugby MP John Slinger said the “quick and clear decision” meant the party could “move on from the damaging, introspection and psychodrama of the last week” and “pull together” behind the eventual candidate.
