Burnham's bid to return as MP blocked by Labour body

British Labour Party politician Andy Burnham, ⁠regarded as a potential leadership rival to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has been blocked from trying to return to parliament by Labour's governing body.

Mr Burnham, one of the party's most high-profile politicians and an elected mayor in Manchester, said yesterday ⁠he wanted to become Labour's candidate to replace a MP who ⁠resigned last week.

In a statement, the party said: "Directly-elected mayors and police and crime commissioners must seek the express permission of Labour's ruling body, the National Executive Committee, before seeking nomination as a Labour candidate for the Westminster Parliament".

It said the rule was put in place "to avoid the party incurring unnecessary costs of running two simultaneous political campaigns."

The party said that by Mr Burnham seeking permission to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election, this would "have led to a mayoral by-election in Greater Manchester".

It said: "The NEC believes that causing an unnecessary election for the position of Greater Manchester mayor would have a substantial and disproportionate impact on party campaign resources before the local elections and elections to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd in May.

"Although the party would be confident of retaining the mayoralty, the NEC could not put Labour's control of Greater Manchester at any risk.

"Andy Burnham is doing a great job as mayor of Greater Manchester. We believe it is in the best interests of the party to avoid an unnecessary mayoral election which would use substantial amounts of taxpayers' money and resources that are better spent tackling the cost of living crisis.

"We look forward to fighting and winning the upcoming by-election in Gorton and Denton and the positive campaign ahead which will be firmly focused on tackling the cost of living and bringing investment to the local area."

Blocking Mr Burnham is likely to provoke anger from some parts of the Labour Party after several senior figures called for local members to have the final say on whether he should stand.

They included deputy leader Lucy Powell, herself an NEC member, and Cabinet minister Ed Miliband, who had both told a conference in London on Saturday that the decision should be left to members

Mr Burnham, a cabinet minister under Gordon Brown, announced he had sought the NEC's permission yesterday.

In a letter to the ruling body, he said the by-election was "the front line" of a fight against "a brand of politics which seeks to pit people against each other".

He said: "I owe it to a city which has given me so much to lead it from the front, despite the risks involved."

The Gorton and Denton by-election was triggered on Thursday after the sitting MP, Andrew Gwynne, announced his resignation from parliament on health grounds.