Starmer defends blocking Andy Burnham from by-election run after backlash

Sir Keir Starmer has defended the decision to block Andy Burnham from standing in an upcoming by-election.

Burnham, who held a range of ministerial positions before standing down to become Mayor of Greater Manchester, is widely seen as a potential leadership challenger to Sir Keir should he return to Westminster.

Labour's decision making body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), which includes Sir Keir, banned him from standing, saying the block on him running as the Labour candidate in Gorton and Denton would "avoid an unnecessary mayoral election".

But some backbenchers have complained about "petty factional manoeuvring" and are calling for the decision to be reconsidered.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Sir Keir insisted allowing Burnham to run for a seat in Westminster would "divert our resources" from "very important" campaigns in May's elections, where Labour is facing potential losses in the Senedd in Wales, the Scottish parliament and English local elections.

"We're out campaigning on the cost of living and they're very important elections - we need all of our focus on those elections," he said.

"Andy Burnham's doing a great job as the mayor of Manchester, but having an election for the mayor of Manchester when it's not necessary would divert our resources away from the elections that we must have, that we must fight and win.

"And resources, whether that's money or people, need to be focused on the elections that we must have, not elections that we don't have to have. And that was the basis of the NEC decision."

Sir Keir highlighted he had supported Burnham's 2015 leadership campaign and how the pair "work closely together" now, including on the Northern Powerhouse Rail project.

"Last year, in sad circumstances, we had to respond together to the attack in a synagogue in Manchester, standing side by side, reassuring the community," he said, adding: "There's no question of me and Andy not working very well together. He's doing an excellent job."

Answering claims he blocked the bid in order to stop an expected tilt at his leadership from Burnham, the prime minister said it was a question of "focus" and that "we need to fight where we must fight", which is why the Labour Party changed the rules two years ago to a presumption against holding unnecessary elections.

Asked for a response at an event in Manchester, Burnham told the BBC: "I am not making any comment. I've said what I needed to say and here I am back in my job. A full focus on my job as mayor of Greater Manchester."

He refused to respond when asked whether he felt Sir Keir was scared of him, adding: "I'm at work. Enjoying the job."

Speaking at another event in Manchester, Burnham invited Labour MPs to "come up to Manchester" because "we need your help" during the by-election campaign, adding: "The Greater Manchester way is built on togetherness. We don't ever here have a politics that's about pitting people one from another."

The clock for the Gorton and Denton by-election was set running on Monday afternoon, when a writ for the poll was moved in Parliament, which means the vote is likely to be held on Thursday 26 February.

While some Labour MPs have expressed unhappiness about the decision to stop Burnham from standing in Gorton and Denton, there are some who are happy the Manchester mayor has been blocked.

Reasons include not wanting Labour splits to be exposed in months of public drama, and others because they want a different candidate to succeed Sir Keir whenever that time comes.

Messages from Labour politicians to the BBC's Matt Chorley were split about two to one in favour of the decision, with most arguing Sir Keir's position was strengthened rather than undermined by events of the weekend.

Several cast doubt on Burnham's popularity among the Parliamentary Labour Party, with some querying if he would have support from the 80-odd MPs needed to trigger a leadership contest.

A waspish cabinet minister texts: "Does anyone really think the psychodrama in the last three days would have ended had he been selected?

"Is Andy Burnham's third resurrection so needed by humanity that getting him back to parliament is worth £5m of everyone's money?

"The fact Burnham thinks so makes me more grateful than ever for the decision."

Others insist the prime minister's position is deteriorating, and some express surprise that Sir Keir himself attended the crucial meeting which decided Burnham's fate.

Others are blunter. "Suspect he will pay for this in the longer term," says one MP, with another texting: "Dead man walking. Everybody just waiting until May."

Earlier, Labour MP Nadia Whittome told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that she disagreed with the decision to block Burnham, because local party members should have the right to choose their own candidate to run in the seat vacated by former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne.

The MP for Nottingham East said: "Myself and many other MPs from right across the party believe that in blocking our only senior Labour politician with a net positive popularity rating, who is mayor of Greater Manchester, is putting petty factional manoeuvring and settling personal scores above winning elections and, in doing so, is risking gifting the seat to Reform."

Asked whether Burnham should be getting on with his job as mayor, Whittome said: "Let's be honest, that's not the reason he was blocked."

She was supportive of a letter understood to be circulating between backbenchers that called the decision to block Burnham a "remote stitch-up" and said: "Our loyalty is to the Labour Party, not to some of the people at the top of the party, who are wrecking the party that we love," she added.

But Baroness Harman, a former Labour deputy leader, told the same programme she was "slightly baffled" why Burnham applied when it "could or should have been clear to him that it would end up like it is now", with rejection.

"What was going to be obvious was the NEC would support the position taken by the prime minister, which they did by eight to one," she said, adding "it would have been better for him not to put in an application."

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander told Today "Nadia is right" about the importance of the coming months for Labour, but defended the NEC's judgement because of the electoral threat from Reform, who he said are "outspending us at the moment ten to one".

"You've got to ask yourselves, as the NEC asked themselves, where is the best interests of the Labour party served and would our opponents have been cheering if the Labour party had decided to engage in a psychodrama instead of directing our fire and training our sights on Reform, on the Green party, on the SNP, on Plaid Cymru."

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