The Labour Party faced the prospect of civil war on Sunday night after Keir Starmer and his allies blocked Andy Burnham’s return to parliament. The 10-strong 'officers’ group' of the party’s ruling body, including the prime minister himself, voted overwhelmingly to reject Burnham’s request to seek selection for the upcoming Gorton and Denton byelection.
The national executive committee said picking Burnham would require a hugely expensive and destabilising election to replace him as mayor of Greater Manchester less than halfway through his four-year term. But MPs from across the party condemned the 'petty factionalism', with one calling the decision a 'huge mistake' and another saying the leadership was 'mad' not to make more of the self-styled 'King of the North'.
Andrea Egan, head of the Unison union, a major Labour funder, said members would be 'disappointed and angry'. A series of unions are understood to be in discussions about what they may do jointly to try to change the decision. 'This is blatant gerrymandering,' one union source said. 'It will not do.'
In a brief statement, Burnham said he was 'disappointed' by the NEC’s decision, hitting out at 'the way the Labour party is being run' under Starmer and raising concerns about the impact on the byelection. Labour figures across the north-west are concerned that Reform UK could take the seat.
Starmer’s allies hope that keeping Burnham away from Westminster will shore up the prime minister’s position and avoid damaging internal conflicts dominating the agenda in the run-up to the May elections. But they acknowledge the decision comes at a cost by deepening internal rifts and further eroding party discipline.
