Andy Burnham latest: Starmer warned to let Manchester mayor stand as MP or face revolt as deadline looms

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell said a “clique” of advisers around Sir Keir Starmer were behind the apparent plot to stop Andy Burnham from becoming an MP.

In a message sent to X on Saturday, Mr McDonnell accused the “incompetent, self-serving control freaks” around the Prime Minister of damaging Labor.

He said the Burnham debate was a “direct force, not a battle of principle, driven by the clique of advisers around Keir Starmer”.

He added: “My view is that the major political mistakes that have caused such problems for the party over the last 18 months are a result of what the group considers to be a small group of relatively inexperienced advisers around Keir and Rachel Reeves.

“They are part of the Westminster bubble disconnected from the feelings and beliefs of our ordinary party supporters.”

Mr McDonnell said these advisers were “almost out of control” and that preventing Mr Burnham from standing as an MP would “do enormous damage to both Keir and the party”.

He warned of the consequences of losing the by-election if Mr Burnham was not allowed to stand.

Andy Burnham has long been seen as a potential rival to Sir Keir Starmer. writes Whitehall Editor Kate Devlin.

But now he faces a make-or-break moment regarding his leadership ambitions.

Failure to stand, or being prevented from standing by the powerful ruling body of the Labor Party, would surely be the end of his hopes of becoming Prime Minister before any general election.

But it is also a moment of great danger for Ser Keir. Already the party deputy leader has warned that Burnham should not be blocked.

Allegations of ‘stitching’ will further fundamentally weaken the beleaguered Prime Minister’s position; Labor Party MPs warned that he might even face a leadership problem as a result.

Jo White, Labor MP for Bassetlaw, warned on social media last night against “stitching in London” in the Gordon and Denton byelection.

He wrote of

Crewe and Nantwich MP Connor Naismith had a similar argument, writing: “Gorton and Denton deserve the best possible selection of candidates. I agree with the prime minister that our attention should be on serving the public, not speculating about future leadership contests.”

“Any decision to limit the election would be wrong.”

New year, new Keir. At least that was the plan.

The Prime Minister kicked off 2026 with a “promise of renewal” and a promise that Britain would turn the corner after his first full year in power. In a video released on New Year’s Day, he vowed to cut the cost of living and get Britain “back on track” in a bid to salvage his relationship with disappointed voters and his own disgruntled MPs.

Three weeks into the new year, it’s safe to say Sir Keir Starmer hasn’t started the year the way he’d hoped. Although the prime minister’s allies claim that he was distracted by ongoing international crises over Venezuela and Greenland, this year began the same way last year ended.

There were more humiliating U-turns on business rates and mandatory digital ID for pubs, Labor remained stagnant in the polls, miles behind Nigel Farage’s Reform, and the murmurs grew louder about whether Starmer was the right man to lead the party. Type Kate Devlin and David Maddox.

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Labor deputy leader Lucy Powell has warned against blocking Andy Burnham from standing in Saturday’s Gorton and Denton byelection, saying the decision should be left to local members.

Speaking at the Fabian Society’s annual conference in London, Ms Powell did not publicly call for Mr Burnham to run for the seat and said he should make up his own mind.

He added: “It should be up to Andy and local members to choose their candidates and our members are very understanding.”

Since Andrew Gwynne announced on Thursday that he would resign as an MP on health grounds, there has been speculation about the mayor of Greater Manchester’s possible return to Westminster.

Mr Burnham, who is widely believed to have ambitions of leading the party, has not yet commented on whether he will run.

But if he does put himself forward, he will have to apply to Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) for permission by 5pm on Saturday.

Reports have suggested that the Prime Minister’s supporters in the NEC may try to block his candidacy, either out of fear that he will destabilize the government or to prevent another by-election for the mayoralty of Greater Manchester.