Keir Starmer has defended Labour’s decision to block Andy Burnham from standing in the forthcoming Gorton and Denton byelection, amid a backlash from within his own party. The prime minister said he and fellow officers on the ruling executive committee had decided not to allow Burnham to quit as mayor of Greater Manchester, which would have triggered a costly mayoral election. Eight members of the national executive committee (NEC), including Starmer, voted against the move on Sunday.
Speaking during a visit to a health centre in Wimbledon, Starmer said the decision was based on the need to focus Labour resources on elections due to take place in May, including local council elections, the Scottish parliament and Welsh Senedd. 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.” He added that Labour should concentrate on fighting Reform UK rather than internal divisions.
Burnham, who had sought to stand in the constituency vacated by Andrew Gwynne, said he was “disappointed” by the decision and promised to support whoever was selected instead. In a post on X, he complained that he had first learned of the news from the media, saying it “tells you everything you need to know about the way the Labour Party is being run these days”. Labour briefed that this was because Burnham could not be contacted, though Scotland Secretary Douglas Alexander conceded that a leak may have occurred.
The decision drew sharp criticism from union and Labour figures. Andrea Egan, head of the Unison union, said members would be “disappointed and angry”, while one union source described the move as “blatant gerrymandering”. Senior Labour figures including Ed Miliband, Sadiq Khan and Lucy Powell had called for Burnham to be allowed to stand. The Labour Party said the move would have had a “substantial and disproportionate impact” on campaign resources ahead of the May elections.
