Image source, Ian Vogler/Daily Mirror/PA Wire

Days of attention on Greater Manchester continued on Monday, after former Labour MP and now Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham was blocked in his bid to return to Parliament.

The stepping down of Labour MP Andrew Gwynne last week left an opportunity for Burnham to become an MP again - but as a sitting mayor, he needed permission from Labour's national executive committee (NEC) to stand.

However, on Sunday the NEC - which includes the prime minister - voted no, by eight votes to one.

Speaking to reporters earlier, Keir Starmer said Burnham was doing an “excellent job", but him standing would have diverted resources from other local election contests Labour needs to win.

Burnham, meanwhile, said his "full focus" was on his role in Greater Manchester.

But there is no sign of the drama ending, BBC Radio 5 Live's Matt Chorley reports, with elections in Scotland, Wales and across England on the way.

We're ending our live coverage now. You can read more in our news story here.

I can tell a story is big when politicians contact me unsolicitedpublished at 12:04 GMT 26 January

12:04 GMT 26 January

Matt Chorley
Presenter, BBC Radio 5 Live

“He’s OK - as long as Labour wins the by-election!” says one Labour MP, offering qualified support for the prime minister after Andy Burnham’s possible return to the Commons was blocked.

One hurdle – the threat of a leadership challenge - cleared, but another looms: can Labour hold Gorton and Denton?

I can tell a political story is big when politicians contact me unsolicited with their commentary. Over the weekend my phone was pinging almost non-stop. Even this morning, as I’ve been WhatsApping MPs and ministers, there is no sign of the drama ending.

My messages split probably two to one in favour of Keir Starmer, arguing his position is strengthened by events of the weekend - or at least not undermined.

“Damned if he did, and damned if he didn’t,” says one backbencher. Meanwhile, a minister jokes that “people who were awkward will remain awkward”. And several cast doubt on Burnham’s popularity among the Parliamentary Labour Party who would 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 PM’s position is deteriorating, and some express surprise that Starmer 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. Another texts: “Dead man walking. Everybody just waiting until May.”

Ah yes, those elections in Scotland, Wales and across England. Always another hurdle.

The prime minister’s recent team building events for MPs, staff and supporters at his grace-and-favour home - chilli at Chequers - don’t seem to have done much for morale. “There is a charm offensive,” says one attendee. “It is not going to help us with what needs to be done to explain U-turns etc.”

“He’s down but not out….yet,” says one minister, trying to remain positive about the coming days. “A bad time for him to be jetting off to China though...”

You can listen to Matt Chorley from 14:00 GMT on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Image source, James Manning/PA Wire

Former Labour deputy leader, and now member of the House of Lords, Tom Watson says he would have "spoken to Andy" to get some "clarity about his ambitions" before blocking his bid to become an MP.

In a post on his Substack, Watson says: "Instead, we chose a public rebuke of one of our strongest, if occasionally tricksy, assets."

He goes on to describe Burnham as a "big boy" who can "give as good as he gets", and someone who is likely to remain "sanguine about it all".

"He will be an MP sooner rather than later," Watson says.

Katie Williams
Live reporter

Image source, James Speakman/PA Wire

We've just been hearing Keir Starmer defend Labour's decision to block Andy Burnham's bid to return to Westminster as an MP.

It's a move which has faced backlash from some within the party - but how did we get here?

• On Thursday, Labour's Andrew Gwynne stood down as MP for Gorton and Denton after suffering "significant ill health", paving the way for a by-election
• This meant Burnham - who left the Commons in 2017 to serve as Greater Manchester mayor - had until 17:00 GMT on Saturday to decide whether he wanted to stand
• Burnham's ambitions beyond the north-west of England have long been transparent, writes our political editor Chris Mason. Just last year, he sparked a row after saying he had been contacted by Labour MPs urging him to challenge Starmer's leadership
• As a sitting mayor, Burnham needed permission from Labour's national executive committee (NEC) in order to stand for the Gorton and Denton seat
• But in a decision made on Sunday, the NEC voted 8-1 to block him, with Starmer among the committee members who voted against him

The prime minister adds that he works well with Andy Burnham.

Starmer says: "When I came into politics in 2015 the first thing I did was support Andy Burnham's leadership campaign, the first team I worked in was for Andy Burnham and in the job he's doing now, he and I work closely together.

"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.

"This year with the Northern Powerhouse Rail, we're working together to deliver something that matters to Andy Burnham, to the region, to millions of people.

"So, there's no question of me and Andy not working very well together. He's doing an excellent job."

Speaking to reporters, Starmer is pushed on rumours of a possible leadership challenge from within the party - and whether Andy Burnham would be more able than him to "beat [Nigel] Farage", a reference to the Reform UK leader.

He says the "battle for our times" is that between a "patriotic Labour government" and the "division of Reform".

He says everyone in the party is fighting this battle, and that the May elections are the "next test".

More now from Keir Starmer, who has defended the decision from Labour's national executive committee (NEC) to block Andy Burnham from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election, saying it would have diverted resources from other contests - which Labour needs to "fight and win".

"We have really important elections already across England for local councils, very important elections in Wales for the government there and very important elections in Scotland for the Scottish government that will affect millions of people," he says.

He praises Burnham's work in Greater Manchester, but says an election in the region "when it’s not necessary would divert our resources away from the elections that we must have, that we must fight and win".

Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Andy Burnham is doing a "great job" as Greater Manchester mayor.

But he adds that allowing him to run for a seat in Westminster would "divert our resources" from Labour campaigns in May's elections.

Joe Pike
Political & Investigations Correspondent

Asked about the Labour national executive committee's decision to block his possible return to Westminster, Andy Burnham tells 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."

Speaking after an event in Manchester, he adds: "I'm at work. Enjoying the job."

He refused to respond when asked whether he felt Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was scared of him.

Rowan Bridge
North of England reporter

Image source, PA Media

At the end of his short speech, Burnham tells the audience they will be “stuck with me making these arguments” about opening up opportunities for young people - a subtle nod to the events of the weekend.

As he leaves, he is surrounded by the media - but says very little.

Rowan Bridge
North of England reporter

Image source, Danny Lawson/PA Wire

Andy Burnham’s making his first public appearance since the Labour leadership blocked his attempt to become an MP.

He’s launching a report into getting working class people into the media and arts.

He began his comments with a joke, saying he’s read every word of the report, because he’s not had much else going on at the weekend.

Beyond that he’s not made any reference to what happened.

Throughout the morning we've been hearing from a number of Labour figures, as the fall out over the party's blocking of Burnham's bid to return to Westminster continues:

• Scotland Secretary Douglas Alexander suggested the decision has prevented "months of psychodrama" in the party and that it remains "fully committed" to winning the upcoming by-election
• Labour MP Nadia Whittome criticised the move, saying senior people in the party are "putting petty factional manoeuvring and settling personal scores above winning elections"
• Fellow Labour MP Andy McDonald said that the prime minister "should be embracing" Burnham and "taking the opportunity to have the best players out there on the pitch"
• However Graham Stringer, also a Labour MP, said he thinks Burnham shouldn't have put his name forward as a candidate in the first place - but he doesn't think "bureaucratic methods" should have been used to stop him
• Similarly, former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman says she is "slightly baffled" as to why Burnham decided to run, and called for Starmer to now try to "bring the party together"

Molly Brewer
BBC North West reporter

Voters in the Gorton and Denton constituency have shared their reactions after hearing that Andy Burnham will not be allowed to stand as their candidate in the upcoming by-election.

John Dowling, 72, tells BBC North West Tonight: "He's done such a great job in Manchester, why couldn't he replicate that in government?"

He adds: "People are very disillusioned with the Labour Party at the moment. The amount of broken promises and U-turns is horrendous."

Susan Roughton, 62, adds that he has "always been a good mayor" and says "it's a shame" he has been blocked from running.

"Everyone should be allowed the opportunity to make things better," she says. "He would have given good competition for Keir Starmer."

But Anthony Quinn, 61, says he believes Burnham had "ulterior motives" in trying to run in the by-election, and that he was using it as a "stepping stone".

Image source, Getty Images

Labour MP Graham Stringer tells BBC Radio 5 Live that he does not think Burnham should have put his name forward for the by-election - but "I don't think bureaucratic methods should be used to stop candidates".

"It leads to resentment, it leads to anger and splits within the party, which works its way through the system and no good comes of it," he says.

As a reminder, Burnham is "disappointed" by Labour's decision - and says it was leaked to the media before he was told.

Stringer says: "It's just simply bad mannered of the party structures not to talk to Andy first. [...] It seems to me that the normal channels of communication between people in this same party didn't happen."

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander has now spoken to the Today programme, having appeared on Breakfast a little earlier.

He says Labour's national executive committee had to "try and weigh a challenging judgement".

He questions whether it is in the Labour Party's interest to have an "unnecessary contest in Manchester", adding that it would absorb "time and money".

Alexander is then asked whether the Labour Party believes the selection of candidates should be made by local party members. The BBC's Nick Robinson points out that Starmer has previously said selections need to be more democratic - not dictated by the NEC.

What was decided yesterday was specifically in relation to a sitting mayor, Alexander says. See what others including Harriet Harman said on this earlier.

But local members will be prevented from choosing Andy Burnham, Robinson says.

Alexander says this clause on sitting mayors was "overwhelmingly endorsed" at the Labour Party conference a few years ago.

Image source, Getty Images

Labour MP Andy McDonald has been speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live - he says the prime minister "should be embracing" Andy Burnham and "taking the opportunity to have the best players out there on the pitch".

"If we're going to exclude people from standing as candidates because they have ambitions of a higher office to deliver for this country, then I'm afraid the benches will be just about empty," he says.

McDonald says the decision over Burnham was made "by 10 people on a Zoom call, with one abstaining... is that how we're going to deploy our democracy?"

Is this about Starmer being strong or being weak?published at 08:20 GMT 26 January

08:20 GMT 26 January

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

The answer is both.

It is an assertion of strength organisationally. Burnham was blocked in a vote of eight to one, with the charge being led by a speech from Sir Keir Starmer himself.

That is a leader with the organisational self-confidence and political strength which allowed him to take control of the institutions of the Labour Party after he became leader six years ago.

But it is also a reflection of weakness politically.

Weakness because one of the big reasons for this decision is that allies of Starmer feared not only that if Burnham became an MP he would challenge for the leadership within months - but that he would win.

That is not the public argument being advanced.

Instead, Labour are talking about the expense, and the political risk, of a by-election for the Greater Manchester mayoralty - a position which has been contested three times with Labour never winning less than 63% of the vote.

If allies of Starmer genuinely fear that without a massive investment of campaign money and resources they might lose the mayoralty, that is a quite breathtaking admission of political weakness.

Image source, Getty Images

The Labour MP for Nottingham East, Nadia Whittome, has been speaking to the Today programme on Radio 4.

Whittome - a regular critic of the government - says that "blocking our only senior Labour politician with a net positive popularity rating...is putting petty factional manoeuvring and settling personal scores above winning elections".

She says that it "should be a free choice for members" in the Gorton and Denton constituency as to who represents them at the by-election.

Whittome will not be drawn on questions about leadership, but later adds: "What a lot of backbench MPs feel is that our loyalty is to the Labour Party - not to some of the people at the top of the Labour Party who are wrecking the party that we love."

Image source, Getty Images

We're now hearing from Lords member and former Labour Party deputy leader Harriet Harman on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

The "default position" is that if you are a mayor, you can't run for Parliament, Harman says.

She is "slightly baffled" why Andy Burnham made decision to try to run, she says, adding that it was "obvious" the NEC would support the decision taken by the party leader Keir Starmer.

Before acting, Burnham should have tried to find out whether the way would be cleared. If not, it would have been better to have never applied at all, Harman says.

Pushed on whether people want Starmer gone, Harman says leadership instability is a "symptom" of the problem, not the "cause".

The task now is for Starmer to "bring the party together", and to continue focusing on "improving lives of people in this country", she adds.