Labour at war over Andy Burnham as deadline for Commons comeback bid looms
Labor is facing a civil war over Andy Burnham’s future as the deadline for Keir Starmer’s potential leadership rival to propose a return to the Commons approaches.
Speculation has been mounting this week that the Mayor of Greater Manchester wants to return to Westminster after Labor MP Andrew Gwynne stood down from his seat in Gorton and Denton, leaving the door open for Mr Burnham to stand in the upcoming by-election.
There have long been fears that any turnaround would see Mr Burnham challenge Sir Keir for the top job, with Labour’s popularity waning and the party falling behind Reform in the polls.
But MPs said Independent The Prime Minister could face a leadership vote even if he prevents Mr Burnham from standing. And in a major intervention on Saturday, Labor deputy leader Lucy Powell said the question of whether the Mayor of Greater Manchester should be allowed to stand “should be up to Andy and local members”.
As a Labor mayor, Mr Burnham has until 5pm on Saturday to apply for permission to stand for the party’s powerful governing body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), whose members include many Starmer loyalists.
Sir Keir’s former deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, is reportedly among those said to support giving Mr Burnham a standing chance and will back him at Labour’s north-west regional conference on Saturday.
Sir Keir’s supporters had warned the party not to use the NEC to block Mr Burnham; They said it would be “ugly” and showed “nasty factionalism” was more important than defeating Nigel Farage’s Reform in the seat.
A Labor MP said: Independent: “If Keir Starmer and (his private secretary) Morgan McSweeney continue to make a move to prevent the Mayor of Manchester from standing… it will cause huge damage to the party in the north and across the country and cause a huge backlash in the PLP. [Parlimentary Labour Party]Among party members, unions and voters, including Gorton and Denton.
“If Keir Starmer tries to stitch up Burnham and succeeds, it will decide Keir Starmer’s fate. If Keir Starmer tries but fails, the outcome will be the same. Starmer should step back from this madness and instruct those around him to do the same.”
But even MPs who have been highly critical of Sir Keir are furious that Mr Burnham, long seen as a potential rival to the prime minister, is considering running.
A Labor MP said: Independent: “He likes to be the center of attention. This is cowardly and the worst kind of politics. If he backs out again, everyone should ignore him when commenting on anything nationally. He could undoubtedly be elected in 2024, but he chose not to.”
Following further speculation in September that he would seek to return to Parliament to challenge Sir Keir, Mr Burnham warned those demanding he make “simple declarations of loyalty” to the Prime Minister that they were underestimating the “danger” facing Labor.
The former deputy prime minister will reportedly back Mr Burnham at Labour’s north-west regional conference on Saturday, increasing pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to allow him to serve as an MP.
On Saturday, Labor MP Richard Burgon tweeted his support for Mr Burnham: “Everyone knows Andy Burnham has the best chance of beating Reform in Gorton and Denton. Fixing the election to keep him off the ballot would be an affront to party democracy and a sign of disgusting factionalism is a higher priority than reversing the rise of Farage and Reform.”
Ms Powell, MP for Manchester, told the Fabian Society’s annual conference that she wanted “the best candidate, the person who can best help Labor win this by-election” to be chosen as the candidate.
Asked whether that meant Labour’s national executive committee should allow Mr Burnham to stand, he said: “He needs to decide for himself what he wants to do and he has until five o’clock today. Andy Burnham is incredibly popular in my world. He’s an incredibly popular politician because he’s really changing our city for the better.”
He added: “I think we should all come together and really celebrate where Labor is doing great work. So it should be down to Andy and local members who are choosing their candidates, and our members are very understanding.”
Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan also said Mr Burnham should be allowed to stand.
He told the Fabian Society conference: “If Andy Burnham wants to be a member of Parliament, I think Andy Burnham should be allowed to be a member of Parliament.
“I firmly believe that the best team will have all the talent playing for them and if Andy wants to return to Parliament I will try to find some time between now and the by-election and knock on some doors for him or whoever the candidate is.”
