Starmer defends blocking Andy Burnham from by-election run after backlash

Sir Keir Starmer has defended his decision to block Andy Burnham from standing as a candidate in the upcoming by-elections.

Burnham, who held various ministerial posts before becoming Mayor of Manchester, is seen as a potential rival to Sir Keir for the leadership if he returns to Westminster.

Labour’s decision-making body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), which includes Sir Keir, banned Keir from standing, saying preventing him from running as a Labor candidate in Gorton and Denton would “prevent an unnecessary mayoral election”.

But some hardliners complained of “petty factional maneuvering” and called for a reconsideration of the decision.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Sir Keir insisted that allowing Burnham to win a seat in Westminster would “divert our resources” from “very important” campaigns in the May elections, where Labor faces potential losses in the Senedd in Wales, the Scottish parliament and UK local elections.

“We are campaigning on the cost of living issue and these are very important elections; we need to focus all our attention on them,” he said.

“Andy Burnham is doing a fantastic job as mayor of Manchester, but calling a Manchester mayoral election when it is not necessary will divert our resources away from the elections we need to make, fight for and win.

“And resources, whether money or people, need to be focused on the choices we have to make, not the choices we don’t have to make. And that was the basis of the NEC decision.”

Sir Keir highlighted his support for Burnham’s 2015 leadership campaign and how the pair are now “working together”, including on the Northern Powerhouse Rail project.

“Last year, in harrowing circumstances, we had to respond together to an attack at a synagogue in Manchester, and by standing side by side we reassured the community,” he said. “There is no doubt that Andy and I do not work very well together. He does an excellent job.”

Responding to claims that Burnham had blocked the bid to stem the expected trend towards his own leadership, the prime minister said it was a matter of “focus” and that “we should fight where we need to fight”, which is why Labor changed the rules two years ago to a presumption against holding unnecessary elections.

Asked for a response at an event in Manchester, Burnham told the BBC: “I’m not making any comments. I’ve said what I had to say and here I am, back to work. I’m completely focused on my job as mayor of Manchester.”

Asked if Sir Keir was afraid of him, he refused to answer, adding: “I’m at work. I’m enjoying the work.”

Speaking at another event in Manchester, Burnham invited Labor MPs to “come to Manchester” during the by-election campaign because “we need your help”, adding: “The Greater Manchester way is about togetherness. It’s never been our policy here to pit people against each other.”

The clock for the Gorton and Denton by-election began ticking on Monday afternoon when a paper was introduced to the House for a vote, meaning the vote will likely take place on Thursday, February 26.

While some Labor MPs have expressed dissatisfaction with the decision to block Burnham from standing in Gorton and Denton, there are also those happy to block the mayor of Manchester.

Reasons for this include not wanting divisions in the Labor Party to be exposed in months of public drama and others wanting a different candidate to replace Sir Keir when that time comes.

Messages from Labor politicians to the BBC’s Matt Chorley were split two to one in favor of the decision, with many arguing that Sir Keir’s position had been strengthened rather than weakened by the weekend’s events.

Some have cast doubt on Burnham’s popularity within the Parliamentary Labor Party, while others have questioned whether she can gain the support of the 80-odd MPs needed to trigger a leadership contest.

A cranky cabinet minister texts: “Does anyone really think the psychodrama of the last three days would have ended if he had been elected?

“Humanity so desperately needs Andy Burnham’s third resurrection that returning him to parliament is worth £5 million of everyone’s money?

“The fact that Burnham feels this way makes me more grateful than ever for the decision.”

Others insist the prime minister’s condition has worsened, and some express surprise that Sir Keir himself attended the crucial meeting that will decide Burnham’s fate.

Others are more straightforward. “I suspect this will pay for itself in the long run,” says one MP, before texting another: “The dead man is walking. Everyone is waiting until May.”

Earlier, Labor MP Nadia Whittome told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that she disagreed with the decision to block Burnham because local party members should have the right to choose their own candidate to run for the seat vacated by former Labor MP Andrew Gwynne.

The Nottingham East MP said: “I, and many other MPs in the party, believe that blocking our only senior Labor politician with a net positive popularity rating, who is the mayor of Greater Manchester, is a matter of petty factional maneuvering and trying to score personal points on top of winning the election, and by doing so risks handing the seat to Reform.”

Asked if Burnham would continue his term as mayor, Whittome said, “Let’s be honest, that’s not the reason he’s blocked.”

He was backing a letter apparently circulated among backbenchers describing the decision to block Burnham as “stitching from afar” and said: “Our allegiance is to Labor, not to some people at the top of the party who are destroying the party we love.”

But former Labor deputy leader Baroness Harman said she was “a little surprised” why Burnham had applied for the same program only to be rejected when “it could or should have turned out the way it did”.

“What was clear was that the NEC would support the position the prime minister took, and they did so by eight to one,” he said, adding that “it would have been better for him not to apply.”

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander told Today that “Nadia is right” about the importance of the coming months for Labor, but defended the NEC’s decision because of the election threat, saying Reform was “outspent us ten times over at the moment”.

“You have to ask yourself, as the Nec has asked themselves: where are Labour’s interests served and would our opponents be cheering if Labor had decided to stage a psychodrama rather than direct our fire and turn our eyes towards Reform, the Green Party, the SNP and Plaid Cymru?”