Starmer leadership rival Burnham blocked from seeking return to UK parliament

by William James

LONDON, January 25 (Reuters) – British Labor Party politician Andy Burnham’s attempt to return to parliament on Sunday was seen as a political move by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his allies to keep a potential leadership rival at bay.

Burnham, one of the party’s best-known politicians and the elected mayor of the northern English city of Manchester, said on Saturday that he wanted to be Labour’s candidate to replace an MP who resigned on Thursday.

Labor is trailing Nigel Farage’s right-wing populist Reform UK party in opinion polls ahead of local elections in May and has so far struggled to deliver on promises of a stronger economy, better public services and tighter borders.

In a decision likely to bring simmering tensions within Labor to a new boiling point, Burnham was barred from standing by the party’s National Executive Committee on Sunday, losing the vote from senior officials, including Starmer himself, by 8 to 1.

Blocking Burnham’s candidacy denies her any chance of gaining a platform from which to formally challenge Starmer because only members of parliament can trigger a leadership contest.

“Andy Burnham is doing a fantastic job as Mayor of Manchester,” Labor said in a statement.

“We believe it is in the party’s interest to avoid an unnecessary Mayoral election,” the statement said, citing the cost to taxpayers and the Labor Party’s own campaign funds of holding an election instead. he added.

Burnham did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision.

Critic accuses Starmer of cowardice

Such is the sentiment over Starmer’s future that the legislator’s resignation last week triggered a short sell in British government bonds as investors speculated that Burnham, who is seen as favoring looser fiscal policy, could rejoin parliament and position himself for a leadership challenge.

Labour’s popularity has fallen since its landslide election victory in July 2024, and the party remains divided over the best strategy to restore trust.

Left-wing Labor MP John McDonnell issued a clear message to Starmer on X after the NEC decision: “If you think this makes you stronger, I tell you, it will only hasten your death. You could have shown supreme leadership but instead this is cowardice.”

Burnham criticized Starmer’s leadership last year but said on Saturday he had reassured the prime minister that he wanted to “support the work of the government, not undermine it”.

Burnham failed to run for party leader in 2015, losing to Jeremy Corbyn. He left parliament in 2017 to become Mayor of Greater Manchester but remained an influential figure for some centre-left groups within the Labor Party, particularly those critical of Starmer’s more centrist stance.

(Reporting by William James; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Susan Fenton)