Andy Burnham 'disappointed' after bid to return as MP blocked by Labour's governing body
The prime minister voted personally to stop his potential rival's bid to return to Westminster and Mr Burnham will remain as Manchester mayor.
Sunday 25 January 2026 18:39, UK
Andy Burnham has said he is "disappointed" after Labour's governing body blocked him from standing as an MP at the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election.
Mr Burnham formally requested permission on Saturday to stand for the contest. As mayor of Greater Manchester, he needed approval to contest a different political election.
Mr Burnham's return to Westminster was seen by many as a potential challenge to Sir Keir Starmer's leadership.
Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) voted to block the mayor's request on Sunday.
Paste BN understands the 10-person panel voted eight to one to block Mr Burnham's bid, with only deputy leader Lucy Powell backing him.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, chair of the NEC - Labour's governing body - abstained.
The prime minister was among those who voted against Mr Burnham, along with union figures and other Labour Party representatives.
Mr Burnham said he was "disappointed" by the decision and "concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us".
"To whoever is Labour's candidate and to our members in Manchester and Tameside: you will have my full support and I will be there whenever you need me," added the mayor.
He said he would "return with full focus" to his current role after offering to stand as MP to help beat Reform, writing on X: "We are stronger together and let's stay that way."
In another post, Mr Burnham criticised the Labour leadership.
"The fact that the media was informed of the NEC decision before I was tells you everything you need to know about the way the Labour Party is being run these days," he wrote.
"You would think that over 30 years of service would count for something but sadly not."
However, a Labour source told Paste BN' Beth Rigby this was "categorically untrue".
"Am told the party attempted to contact Andy shortly after the meeting had concluded over the phone and then contacted him via email," she posted on X.
Any survival hope for PM meant shutting Burnham out
It has been a frenzied 48 hours of Labour leadership speculation after Andy Burnham tried to throw his hat in the ring for a return to parliament.
On Sunday, Starmer's allies emphatically tried to shut that down, as the NEC's panel voted 8-1 to block the Manchester mayor's bid. Only the deputy Labour leader and Greater Manchester MP Lucy Powell supported Burnham, with the chair, home secretary Shabana Mahmood, abstaining (as is custom).
The reasons cited were concerns over the unnecessary costs of having to hold an election for the Manchester metro mayor during important local, Welsh and Scottish elections, and the prospect of Reform running a divisive campaign in the city and greater Manchester region.
Polling suggests that Reform would have a real prospect of taking the region in what would have become a hugely symbolic battle - rather like the fight for the West Midlands mayor which Labour won from the Conservatives ahead of the 2024 election.
But there is also bucketloads of politics in this, as the frenzy over a possible return of Burnham to parliament has shown. In blocking Burnham, the PM and his team have decided it's better they take the short-term pain and inevitable backlash than allow the psychodrama of the Starmer-Burnham leadership battle to run for weeks in the May elections, drowning out policy discussions and making the party look divided.
A party statement said the reason behind the decision was the cost of running the campaigns for both a parliamentary seat and a Manchester mayoralty by-election.
"Although the party would be confident of retaining the mayoralty, the NEC could not put Labour's control of Greater Manchester at any risk, the statement said.
"Andy Burnham is doing a great job as mayor of Greater Manchester," it added.
"We believe it is in the best interests of the party to avoid an unnecessary mayoral election which would use substantial amounts of taxpayers' money and resources that are better spent tackling the cost of living crisis.
"We look forward to fighting and winning the upcoming by-election in Gorton and Denton and the positive campaign ahead which will be firmly focused on tackling the cost of living and bringing investment to the local area."
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Despite anger on the left of the party, MPs loyal to Mr Starmer have backed the decision.
Bolton West's Phil Brickell said recent speculation had "seen the Labour Party quickly turn inward... undermining the PM's efforts at home and abroad".
Rugby MP John Slinger said the "quick and clear decision" meant Labour could "move on from the damaging, introspection and psychodrama" and "pull together" behind the eventual by-election candidate.
However, Poole MP Neil Duncan-Jordan was scathing in calling the decision a "stitch-up" that "puts control before country".
"Those who have orchestrated this outcome are happy to destroy the Labour Party because of their deep seated factionalism," he said.
"We've seen this before when some individuals were actively working against us winning. We're rapidly losing all sense of reason."
Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell warned the prime minister: "If you think it strengthens you I tell you it will simply hasten your demise.
"You could have shown magnanimous leadership but instead it's cowardice."
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Nadia Whittome, MP for Nottingham East, also criticised the Labour leadership, who she said "care more about settling personal scores than winning elections".
Louise Haigh, the former transport secretary, said: "The leadership should not feel threatened by having one of the most popular politicians in the country as part of the national team.
"It's not too late to change course and make the right decision. Otherwise I think we'll all come to regret this."