'A Gift To Nigel Farage': Labour Civil War Deepens Over Decision To Block Burnham's MP Bid
Splits within the Labour Party over the decision to block Andy Burnham’s bid to return to Westminster have deepened after dozens of MPs and peers urged Keir Starmer to think again.
More than 50 Labour parliamentarians have signed a letter to the prime minister calling on him to reverse the decision by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, sought permission from the NEC to put his name forward to be Labour’s candidate in next month’s Gorton and Denton by-election.
It has been triggered by the resignation of sitting MP Andrew Gwynne, and is set to be a three-way battle between Labour, Reform UK and the Green Party.
The prime minister himself sat on the NEC sub-committee of 10 people who turned down Burnham’s application, which the MPs and peers say “has caused a huge amount of anxiety and anger”.
Their letter, which was obtained by ITV’s Good Morning Britain, says: “Losing the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election to Reform would be unimaginable.
“The threat of a Reform MP to communities in Greater Manchester, as well as another by-election loss in a strong Labour constituency, is an issue that all of us must now take very seriously.
“This decision is a real gift to Nigel Farage. Andy Burnham has been one of the most visible defenders of devolution and loudest champions of placed-based power.
“Blocking him from even making his case to local members in this election risks sending a message that the Labour Party does not respect devolution and local leadership.
“It risks telling our own local members that we do not trust them to make the important decision on who is best placed to fight this election for them and serve as their next member of Parliament.
“Fundamentally, it risks playing into the kind of division and disunity that Nigel Farage and Reform thrive on.”
Starmer insisted on Monday that the decision to block Burnham was taken to avoid a by-election to replace him as Greater Manchester mayor.
But critics say it was driven by the PM’s fear of Burnham mounting a leadership challenge to him, possibly as soon as this year.
The MPs and peers are demanding a meeting of the full NEC be held to overturn the decision to block Burnham.
Their letter goes on: “This is a critical moment. For Manchester, for the Labour Party, and the country at large.
“Local members in Gorton and Denton should have the opportunity to hear from a broad range of candidates and make their own decision on who is best suited to fight this upcoming by-election.
“We are urging the whole NEC to meet urgently, re-evaluate this decision, and allow local members their say in who will represent them.”
But a senior Labour insider told HuffPost UK: “It’s pathetic. Haven’t these people got better things to do?”
Former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman, who now sits in the House of Lords, told BBC Newsnight that her colleagues need to move on and help whoever is chosen as the party’s candidate to win the by-election.
On Sky News on Tuesday, communities secretary Steve Reed said Burnham’s supporters “are entitled to their view”.
He added: “Labour’s ruling NEC took the decision this weekend that it is better for Andy Burnham to continue to serve out his four-year term as mayor of Manchester.
“Andy would be a fantastic candidate, I hope to see him back in parliament in due course. But having him as the candidate now would then require a by-election for the mayor of Greater Manchester when he’s only halfway through his term.
“Voters have a right to expect that if they elect a politician to a job, that they will serve out the full term for the job that they have elected them to do.”