Andy Burnham hits out at Keir Starmer after being blocked from running in by-election

Earlier today, it emerged the 10-strong National Executive Committee (NEC) denied Mr Burnham permission to stand in order to avoid "an unnecessary election for the position of Greater Manchester mayor".

The party said a mayoral by-election "would have a substantial and disproportionate impact on party campaign resources" before local and devolved elections in May, adding Labour’s control of Greater Manchester "could not be put at any risk".

"Andy Burnham is doing a great job as mayor of Greater Manchester.

"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."

Despite the barring, the Greater Manchester Mayor's return to parliament is not shut completely as senior Labour politicians have left the door open for Mr Burnham to return to Westminster after his term as mayor ends in 2028.

In an update this afternoon, Mr Burnham hit out at Sir Keir and his allies in control of the NEC, writing on X: "I am disappointed by today’s NEC 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.

"Tomorrow I return with full focus to my role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, defending everything we have built in our city-region over many years.

"I decided to put myself forward to prevent the divisive politics of Reform from damaging that.

"We are stronger together and let’s stay that way."

Then in a separate swipe, he added: "PS - 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.

"You would think that over 30 years of service would count for something but sadly not."

The by-election in Gorton and Denton was triggered by the resignation of former Labour minister Andrew Gwynne, who was stripped of the Labour whip over offensive comments made in a WhatsApp group.

In an attempt to defend the NEC's decision today, Cabinet minister Steve Reed claimed a mayoral election would be "inconvenient" for voters in Manchester right now.

He said: "This was a decision taken by Labour's ruling National Executive Committee.

"Any Mayor who wants to stand in a parliamentary by-election under the Labour Party's rules, has to seek the permission of that committee.

"And on this occasion they've decided against it because of the huge inconvenience to two million voters across Greater Manchester of having a by-election for a new Mayor if he were to move forward."

He continued: "So 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 there."

"There will be opportunities in the future, and I'd love to welcome him into Parliament in due course, but right now isn't the right time.

"Andy is only halfway through his term. So another two years to run. He's doing an absolutely fantastic job. I work with him myself. We speak regularly.

"I see the difference that he's making. He will need to focus on that job, and we will select a candidate for the Denton and Gorton by-election, and we will do our best to win it."

Looking ahead to the upcoming by-election, some Labour MPs have urged the party to avoid infighting and stand united in the face of the threat of Reform UK and the Greens.

Back in 2024, Mr Gwynne won Gorton and Denton comfortably with just over half of the votes cast (51 per cent), 37 percentage points ahead of Reform (second) on 14 per cent.

The Greens finished third, just one percentage point behind Reform, the Workers Party of Britain fourth on 10 per cent and the Conservatives fifth on 8 per cent.

Mr Gwynne's majority in 2024 was 13,413, ranking just outside Labour’s top 50 biggest wins at the election.

However, the 2024 result is smaller than the 14,696 majority Labour won in the nearby seat of Runcorn and Helsby and which was subsequently overturned by Reform in a by-election in 2025.

In order to win the seat, Reform would need a large swing of around 18.5 percentage points to gain Gorton and Denton - equivalent of a net change of 19 in every 100 people who voted Labour in 2024 switching directly to Reform.