Starmer allies ‘plan to block Andy Burnham’s route back to Westminster’
Sir Keir Starmer’s allies are planning to block potential leadership rival Andy Burnham’s path back to Westminster, according to reports.
Former Labor Minister Andrew Gwynne, who was stripped of his whip over offensive WhatsApp messages, stood down as an MP on Thursday.
His departure creates a pathway for Mr Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, to mount a Commons comeback that would allow him to challenge Sir Keir’s position, after speculation he could stand in upcoming by-elections for Gorton and Denton.
But the prime minister’s allies on Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) have vowed to try to prevent Mr Burnham from standing in the by-elections in May. Times reported.
According to one of its members, there is “an overwhelming anti-Burnham coalition in the NEC, stretching left and right”.
Another told the paper that the prospect of a Manchester mayoral election “has even the most anti-leadership members worried”.
A third said he would support Burnham’s leadership in a “utopia” but acknowledged the reality was “it will be very bad in areas where we are already losing votes”.
No 10 is even reportedly working on the idea of imposing a “loyalty pledge” where candidates would have to confirm their allegiance to Sir Keir. As a result, Mr Burnham could be painted as a traitor if he makes a leadership bid.
The mayor of Manchester urged people not to “jump to conclusions” following Mr Gwynne’s resignation, despite repeatedly refusing to rule out a return to the House of Commons or a leadership challenge.
If successful, Mr Burnham could return to parliament as the prime minister reaches his lowest ebb, with elections in Scotland and Wales and May’s UK council elections expected to be disastrous for Labour.
Just hours after the by-election was confirmed, Sir Keir warned MPs to stop talking about potential leadership challenges, saying in an interview with Channel 4 News that “every minute we spend talking about things other than the cost of living and stability in Europe and around the world is a minute wasted.”
Mr Gwynne, who is away from parliament on sick leave, has previously denied intending to vacate the seat, saying in September that the “road to Number 10” would not be through his seat.
He was sacked as health minister and suspended from the Labor Party over comments made in a WhatsApp group in February last year. He reportedly posted sexist comments about Angela Rayner, made racist remarks about Labor MP Diane Abbott and joked about the death of an elderly woman in a closed group chat with Manchester-based Labor figures. He publicly apologized at the time and said he regretted the “misjudged” remarks.
On Thursday afternoon he confirmed he would be withdrawing from the Gorton and Denton constituency, citing health reasons.
In a post on Facebook, the MP wrote: “I didn’t do everything right and I certainly made mistakes, but I always tried to do my best and helped tens of thousands of voters with their problems along the way. In fact, helping people was what gave me the greatest pleasure in this job.”
Mr Gwynne said he had “severe health problems for most of the 21 years I have been an MP” and that this had been “significantly exacerbated by the impact of events relating to leaked text messages last year”.
Before the by-election was confirmed, Sir Keir did not say whether he supported the idea of Mr Burnham remaining as MP if there was a vacancy, but added that Mr Burnham had “done an excellent job” as mayor.
Meanwhile, there is widespread speculation about Mr Burnham’s leadership ambitions, with Sir Keir suggested the mayor is the leading candidate to take over if his position as prime minister becomes untenable.
Mr Burnham was the focus of such rumors when he announced at the Labor Party conference in September that MPs were privately urging him to challenge Sir Keir.
But he later criticized reports of his leadership bid, writing about X in December: “There’s quite a bit of nonsense in the papers today. Reminds me of why I left Westminster!”
He said Thursday afternoon that he was “in the dark” about a possible midterm election. He said: “This has not been confirmed to me. I have had no contact with Andrew or anyone close to him about this. I have known him from before, of course, but like everyone else I am in the dark about this.”
He added: “People shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”
Any by-elections are likely to coincide with elections in May. This will give Labor the chance to defend the seat, and potentially the Greater Manchester mayoralty, against Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, which is currently sitting high in nationwide opinion polls.
Mr Farage’s team, which does not have the background of larger parties, is expected to expand its fight for votes in Scottish, Welsh and English councils on May 7.
But the timing raises the possibility that Mr Burnham could become an MP; it’s a prerequisite for taking on the top job, just as Sir Keir suffered his most significant blow in office.
It is feared Labor could face a wipeout in some areas in the upcoming local elections, which could be a key moment in Sir Keir’s term as prime minister.
The last YouGov MRP, conducted in September 2025, predicted Labor would gain a 30 per cent hold in the constituency and Reform UK on 24 per cent.
Earlier this month leading pollster Professor Sir John Curtice said Mr Burnham represented Labour’s best hope of keeping Nigel Farage out of the 10th place.
Sir John said Independent He believed only Mr Burnham had the support within the Labor Party and was appealing to the wider electorate to be an effective alternative to Sir Keir, who he said “didn’t have the skills for Downing Street”.
A YouGov poll last month showed Mr Burnham a clear lead over former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and Mr Streeting among candidates expected to replace Sir Keir. But there was a backlash among some Labor MPs against the idea of Mr Burnham standing. A Labor MP said: Independent “Frankly, it’s nothing more than a distraction we don’t need that could last for months.”
Independent He contacted both Mr Gwynne and Mr Burnham for comment.
