Rumours of a “civil war” amongst the party have begun to emerge
Politicians have been reacting to the news that Andy Bunrham has been blocked from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
The decision was made by a 10-strong sub-group of the NEC, chaired by the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Sunday morning.
It came after Mr Burnham officially requested to stand as a candidate in the forthcoming vote, after the Greater Manchester mayor announced his intentions to go back to Westminster on Saturday (January 24).
The decision is sure to cause controversy amongst the Labour Party, as several MPs have already hit out condemning the decision.
Labour MP Richard Burgon called for an “emergency NEC meeting” and accused the party leadership of being prepared to lose a by-election to protect “factional interests”.
Mr Burgon, who is secretary of the Socialist Campaign Group of MPs, said: “Keir Starmer and his clique have shown they’re prepared to lose Gorton and Denton to Reform – just to protect narrow factional interests.
“It’s weak leadership – and will only deepen the crisis the party is in. There should now be an emergency NEC meeting to resolve this mess.”
Former Shadow Chancellor and Labour MP, John McDonnell, issued a damning message to the Prime Minister. This comes after the BBC reported the Prime Minister was among the members of the NEC who voted against Burnham standing in the by-election.
Mr McDonnell took to X, saying: “Do not underestimate the depth of anger people will feel about this disgusting decision. 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.”
The co-chairs of left-wing group Momentum also issued a statement on X condemning the decision. The group has historically aligned with candidates such as Angela Rayner and Rebecca Long-Bailey.
They said: “The Labour Leadership’s decision to block Andy Burnham from standing as a candidate in Gorton and Denton is a catastrophic example of the nasty factionalism typical of Starmer’s leadership.
“Local members have been denied the chance to vote for the best placed candidate to defeat Reform, showing again that control-freakery at the top of the Party is destroying our chances of winning.”
Political parties across the country have also struck out against the decision.
Leader of the Green Party, Zack Polanski said: “As days pass and Labour seemingly find new ways to disappoint people, I remain focused on growing the Green Party. At the upcoming election in Gorton and Denton, it’s become clear that the Greens are the only progressive party capable of beating Reform.”
Former leader of the Green Party, Caroline Lucas, has suggested the verdict to block Burnham’s application to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election is an “absolutely terrible decision”.
On X, she added the move was “fundamentally anti-democratic and a sign of utter weakness”.
Other Labour MPs have backed the decision, but are urging the party to avoid infighting and move on to 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… undermining 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.
Local Government Secretary Steve Reed also defended the position saying he looked forward to seeing Andy Burnham back in Parliament “in due course”.
He told the BBC: “He’s got two more years of his term to run.
“In due course, I look forward to seeing Andy back in Parliament. Right now, we don’t want to trigger an avoidable by-election in Greater Manchester.”
He added: “I know that’s disappointing for Andy but it’s good news for the people of Greater Manchester because he’s been doing such a good job as the mayor.”
