SIR Keir Starmer faces backlash from Labour MPs after Andy Burnham was blocked from standing in a parliamentary by-election.
A 10-person group from Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC), including the Prime Minister, voted to deny Greater Manchester Mayor, Mr Burnham permission to stand in Gorton and Denton's by-election at a meeting on Sunday, January 25.
The NEC cited the cost of fighting a mayoral by-election and the risk of losing the Greater Manchester mayoralty.
Critics have accused the Prime Minister and his supporters of blocking the former Leigh MP's candidacy for factional reasons however, fearing a leadership challenge from the mayor if he returned to Westminster.
Such critics include backbench Labour MPs such as former cabinet minister, Louise Haigh, who said the NEC should reverse its decision otherwise "we’ll all come to regret this”, as well as Simon Opher, who called the decision an “own goal” for the prime minister's advisors.
Other backbench MPs reportedly now expect Labour to lose the Gorton and Denton by-election as a result.
Trade unions have also criticised the decision, including the Transport Salaried Staff's Association (TSSA), who have said that Labour has “lost its way”.
Andrea Egan, General secretary of Unison, Britain’s largest trade union, added that it was not the way “any democratic organisation should be run”.
Others have referred to a tweet sent by the Prime Minister whilst campaigning for Labour party leadership in 2020, whereby he contradicted his recent decision, stating that candidate selection needed to be “more democratic” and the party should “end NEC impositions of candidates”.
Mr Burnham said he was “disappointed” by the decision and “concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us”.
In a statement on social media, he said he would “return with full focus” to his mayoral job today and urged unity in the face of “the divisive politics of Reform”.
In a swipe to those in Parliament, he said the fact the NEC’s decision had been leaked to the press before he had been informed “tells you everything you need to know about the way the Labour Party is being run these days”.
Labour sources have strenuously denied that the party leaked the decision before informing Mr Burnham, stating that they attempted to contact him shortly after the meeting by phone and email.
Various other backbenchers backed the NEC’s decision, urging the party to avoid infighting and focus on winning the by-election.
Phil Brickell, MP for Bolton West, said speculation about Mr Burnham’s candidacy in recent days had “seen the Labour Party quickly turn inward", claiming it had undermined the "PM’s efforts at home and abroad”.
Rugby MP John Slinger, said the “quick and clear decision” meant the party could “move on from the damaging, introspection and psychodrama of the last week” and “pull together” behind the eventual candidate.
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