Starmer allies urge him to block Andy Burnham from running in byelection | Andy Burnham

Keir Starmer’s allies are pressing him to stop Andy Burnham from running in the Gorton and Denton byelection after the Greater Manchester mayor announced his intention to run, setting up a potential fight for the prime minister’s political future.

Burnham said on Saturday he wanted to run for the seat after MP Andrew Gwynne said he intended to stand down.

Burnham’s allies, including ministers, MPs and union leaders, say that as one of the country’s most high-profile and popular Labor politicians, he should be allowed to contest the seat and attempt to return to parliament.

But with the mayor of Manchester making no secret of his leadership ambitions, those close to the prime minister were urging him on Friday night to take steps to prevent Burnham from standing up.

“If Keir doesn’t make the call [to block Burnham]“Game over,” said one.

Another added: “Andy’s candidacy isn’t going anywhere. It’s going to cost a lot to fight for the Manchester mayoralty and there’s no guarantee we’ll win it.”

The battle over Labour’s future became clear on Saturday evening when Burnham submitted her application to stand as a candidate along with a letter to the party’s ruling national executive committee (NEC).

In the letter he wrote: “I see this by-election as the front line of the fight for Manchester Way and feel I owe it to a city that has given me so much to lead it from the front, despite the risks involved.”

He said he wanted to run a “hopeful and unifying” campaign. If elected, he will face strong challenges from Reform England and the Green Party.

The NEC could meet as soon as Sunday morning to decide whether to allow Burnham to resign as mayor and stand for the local party as a candidate.

While NEC members are free to cast their votes as they wish, the prime minister’s allies have a majority on the committee and those around Downing Street are expected to vote against Burnham if they make clear that is what they want.

A person familiar with the committee’s processes said: “Holding a mayoral election and by-elections have significant cost implications, and it is reasonable to expect mayors to complete their terms.”

The by-election was held this week following the resignation of former minister Gwynne, who announced that he was leaving his post due to his health condition. Gwynne sat as an independent after being suspended from the Labor Party over offensive WhatsApp messages.

It has long been rumored that Burnham would make a bid to replace Gwynne. Days before the party’s conference in Liverpool last year, Burnham told the Telegraph that Labor MPs had contacted him over the summer to ask him to stand up after becoming concerned about Starmer’s waning popularity.

Polls suggest Starmer is one of the least popular Labor prime ministers ever, and Labor MPs are increasingly concerned about how his leadership will affect local elections in May.

In his letter, Burnham said Greater Manchester faced a “direct threat” to “everything”. [it] has always been the product of a style of politics that aims to pit people against each other,” is perceived as a reference to the growth of the populist right.

Some polls suggested Burnham was the only Labor candidate who could accept the challenge from Nigel Farage’s party.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Labor deputy leader Lucy Powell told the Fabian Society conference on Saturday that Burnham should be allowed to stand.

Khan said at the event in central London: “I firmly believe the top team will have all the talent and if Andy wants to return to parliament I will try to carve out some time between now and the by-election to knock on some doors for him.”

Meanwhile, Powell, who represents the neighboring Manchester Central constituency, said the NEC must be careful to prevent Burnham from standing.

He said it should be up to Burnham and the party members in her constituency whether she was allowed to stand as the Labor candidate. He praised Burnham as “incredibly popular” and saying he had changed Manchester “for the better”.

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

Powell also acknowledged that Labor could easily lose to the Reform or Green party if the wrong candidate is chosen.

“In that regard, I always want to see the best candidate, the person who can best help Labor win this very difficult by-election,” he said. “I want to see the best candidates step up and be able to step up and help us win.”

Health Secretary Wes Streeting, perceived as Burnham’s main rival for leadership if Starmer were to be sacked, refused to say whether he would support Burnham’s candidacy.

“This is the decision of the party, not the cabinet,” he said. “I was clearly told that this is my answer to this question. This is a truly critical midterm election. We must work hard to gain people’s trust and win every vote. “We want the best candidate possible for this by-election.”

But he added: “Over the last few days I have seen some pretty rude things said about Andy, as usual, from people who don’t give their names to briefings like this, without saying whether he wants to be a candidate or not.

“I think this is a shameful way to treat someone who is a Labor mayor, part of our team and part of our movement.”

Two members of the government have now said they think Burnham should be allowed to run. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, who led the party between 2010 and 2015, said: “I very much hope that the local party will have the option of choosing Andy Burnham as their candidate.”

Miatta Fahnbulleh, parliamentary undersecretary for housing, communities and local government, said: “We are in the fight of our lives to defeat the Reformation, where we have a moral duty to the country and we need our best team on the field.

“So if he wants to throw his hat in the ring and can persuade his members and voters to elect him, then I think he will be an asset.”

Other ministers believe it would be a mistake to allow Burnham to run.

“I know Number 10 are incompetent, but they are certainly not so incompetent that they would allow a man into parliament just to challenge the prime minister,” one of them said.

Another said it would be a “big decision” for the national executive committee, which must consider the possibility of a costly mayoral by-election.

“If he stands up he will be on the backbenchers until the prime minister decides to give him a role,” added an ally of Starmer.

“These are facts he must take into consideration. If that is his ambition, there is no vacancy for a leader. There are very few in the PLP.” [parliamentary Labour party] “I welcome any distraction from any talk of the leadership struggle.”

Another backbench MP added: “We are preparing for important elections across the country. We really don’t need a Burnham circus that takes away resources – she needs to put the party ahead of her personal ambition for change.”

“In addition, the cost of a mayoral election will be around £5 million. It would simply not be right to shorten the term in this way.”