A decision on whether to allow Andy Burnham to stand as a candidate for an upcoming parliamentary by-election will be made by Labour’s ruling body later.
The BBC has been told allies of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer may try to block the mayor of Greater Manchester from running in Gorton and Denton over concerns he could mount a leadership challenge if he returns to Westminster.
Announcing his bid to contest the by-election, Burnham, a former cabinet minister, said he wanted to to back the Labour government “not undermine it”.
Several Labour MPs have reacted angrily to the suggestion he could be blocked, with the party’s ruling body expected to meet at 11:00 GMT to make its decision.
The seat in Greater Manchester is vacant after Andrew Gwynne stood down as an MP on health grounds on Friday.
As a directly elected mayor, Burnham has to get approval from Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) before he can progress to the next stage of the selection process.
The decision is due to be made by just 10 members of the NEC, including Sir Keir, Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell and party chair Ellie Reeves.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is also one of those members and chairman of the NEC and told the BBC it was “normal practice” for candidate selection to be decided in this way.
Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mahmood said there were “different perspectives” on allowing Burnham to be a candidate and insisted she would make sure the debate on the decision “takes place in a proper way”.
She said allowing elected mayors to run as candidates in parliamentary by-elections had “organisational implications” for the party.
Several Labour sources have said the NEC could block Burnham’s application on the grounds that a mayoral election would be expensive for the party.
It would also be costly for the taxpayer, with the last mayoral election costing around £4.7m.
But Mahmood said Burnham was an “exceptional politician” and “a great member of the Labour team”.
The home secretary said she took at “face value” Burnham’s assurance that he would support Sir Keir’s government, should he be elected as an MP.
But even if Burnham’s candidacy is approved by the NEC, there are further hurdles for him to overcome.
Once the deadline for applications passes on Sunday night, an NEC selection panel will shortlist candidates, who will go through to a vote of local party members.
Mahmood told Sky News the party “sometimes has all-women shortlists”, describing this as an option that was “very much still in the mix”.
It is a massive decision for the prime minister and his allies.
The calculation is whether it is more damaging to block a popular mayor from running in what could be a difficult by-election in his area or to allow a leadership candidate to come to Westminster and potentially make a leadership challenge in a few months’ time.
In a letter published on social media to announce his intentions, Burnham said there was a “direct threat to everything Greater Manchester has always been about from a brand of politics which seeks to pit people against each other”.
He said he had left Westminster nearly a decade ago because he believed “it wasn’t working for people in our part of the world” and that as mayor he had “tried to pioneer a different way of doing things”.
But he said he felt the “need to go back” as he believed similar changes were needed at a national level.
There has been speculation that the prime minister could face a leadership challenge after the May elections, which will see votes take place in the Welsh Parliament, the Scottish Parliament and in some local councils in England.
Burnham has been touted as a possible leadership contender but can only mount a challenge if he is an MP.
Labour MPs are split on the issue, some think Burnham should be allowed to stand as a strong candidate but others think having to contest his mayoralty opens the door to Reform potentially winning that.
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said he should be allowed to be an MP if he wanted to be, while deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell said the by-election would be “difficult” and she wanted “to make sure we are putting the best team out on the pitch week after week”.
She called for Labour members to “get behind Keir Starmer”, adding that she did not want to see the by-election develop into “in-fighting and talking about ourselves”.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said Burnham would be “a massive asset” in Parliament and that he hoped Gorton and Denton party members would have “the option” of selecting him as a candidate.
But Health Secretary Wes Streeting was more cautious, saying there would be big questions to weigh up including what would happen if there was a mayoral election in Greater Manchester.
If Burnham were to be selected and won the Gorton and Denton seat, he would have to resign as Greater Manchester mayor, triggering a new election for that role.
The area of Gorton and Denton has traditionally voted Labour and the party won the seat in 2024 with a majority of 13,000.
However, since then the party’s popularity has declined and Labour could face challenges from Reform UK and the Green Party who came second and third at the general election.
Originally published at BBC News
