Andy Burnham has confirmed he is seeking to stand for Labour in the Gorton and Denton by-election, paving the way for a return to parliament and a potential leadership challenge to Sir Keir Starmer.
The mayor of Greater Manchester said the decision had been “difficult”, but now was “the moment to mount the strongest possible defence” of Labour’s values as he asked for permission to stand from the party’s powerful ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), whose membership includes many Starmer loyalists.
In a letter to the NEC released as the 5pm deadline to apply passed, Mr Burnham said he would support the government “not undermine it” and that he had passed that assurance on to the prime minister.
But there is a growing civil war within the party over his future, as Labour MPs accused him of a “show of ego” and suggested he was “on manoeuvres” for a leadership bid, while senior party figures lined up to insist he should not be blocked from standing.
The Independent has been told that MPs have warned the party that Sir Keir could face a leadership vote if he moves to stop Mr Burnham from standing, amid claims it would show that “nasty factionalism” was more important than beating Nigel Farage’s Reform in the seat.
A Commons comeback for Mr Burnham, who has long been viewed as a potential rival to the prime minister, will add to the growing pressure on the beleaguered prime minister as Labour languishes behind Reform in the polls.
In his letter, Mr Burnham said he was standing after giving “careful thought to what is in the best interests of our party and the city region I represent”.
Without namechecking Reform, which came second in the seat at the last election, he said there was now “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 added: “I see this by-election as the front line of that fight for the Manchester way and I feel I owe it to a city which has given me so much to lead it from the front, despite the risks involved.”
While he said he applauded the government for work on issues such as rail renationalisation and the housing crisis, he said he wanted to help it “go further and faster”.
Within hours the Scottish Labour MP Joani Reid went public with her objections warning of an “energy-sapping distraction, which is why many of us would probably have preferred Andy Burnham to stay out of it.”
She said that being mayor was “a bigger job than being a backbench MP. So either he’s seeking a quieter life, or he’s on manoeuvres. If it’s the latter, it’s the last thing we need in the run-up to the May elections.”
Another Labour MP said: “This is just going to be a meaningless distraction and a show of ego from Andy. He doesn’t seem to care about the damage this will do to the party, politics in general or Manchester. Even people who don’t think the PM is doing a good job think this is ludicrously self-centred.”
In September, Mr Burnham hit out at those demanding he make “simplistic statements of loyalty” to Sir Keir, warning they were underestimating “the peril” facing Labour in May’s Scottish, Welsh, and English council elections.
It came after the prime minister compared him to the former PM Liz Truss, suggesting his economic plans would be disastrous for the country.
This week Mr Burnham again doubled down on his economic stance, repeating his claims that Britain is too “in hock to the bond markets” as he set out his case for “business-friendly socialism”.
Mr Burnham is seen as one of Labour’s most effective communicators and is popular with the public. But the news that he had a potential path to parliament rattled the markets when it broke last Thursday, suggesting a possible drag on his leadership ambitions.
On Saturday deputy Labour leader, Lucy Powell, an ally of Mr Burnham, told the Fabian Society conference on Saturday that the question of whether the mayor of Greater Manchester should stand in Gorton and Denton “should be up to Andy and the local members”.
Sir Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, also told the conference Mr Burnham should be allowed to stand and said he would campaign for him. “I’m a firm believer in the best team having all the talent playing for them,” he said.
Health secretary Wes Streeting was less forthcoming when asked if Mr Burnham should stand, saying: “This is a matter for the party, not the cabinet, and I’ve been told in no uncertain terms that is my answer.”
As a Labour mayor, Mr Burnham had to apply to the NEC for permission to stand in the by-election. It is not clear when it will make its decision, but moments after his announcement, Labour MPs piled pressure on the committee not to block him.
Connor Naismith, the Labour MP for Crewe and Nantwich, tweeted: “There is no legitimate reason why a candidate of Andy’s calibre should be denied being put before the party membership.”
One Labour MP told The Independent: “If Keir Starmer and (his chief of staff) Morgan McSweeney push ahead with a stitch-up which blocks the mayor of Greater Manchester from being the candidate… it will damage the party hugely in the North and across the country and will cause a huge backlash in the PLP, amongst party members and trade unions and voters, including in Gorton and Denton.
“If Keir Starmer tries to stitch up Burnham and succeeds, it will seal Keir Starmer’s fate. If Keir Starmer tries but fails, the outcome will be the same. Starmer should pull back from this madness and instruct those around him to do the same.”
The Mainstream Labour group has also launched a petition against “a stitch-up from the top”, adding: “Labour can win in the Gorton and Denton by-election if we lead with our values and allow a fair, democratic and open selection for our candidate.”
Labour MP Chris Webb publicly warned that blocking Mr Burnham would have “serious lasting consequences”, while fellow MP Richard Burgon wrote on X: “Fixing the selection to keep him off the ballot would be an affront to party democracy and a sign nasty factionalism is a higher priority than reversing the rise of Farage and Reform.”
But there is fury towards Mr Burnham among even some Labour MPs who are highly critical of Sir Keir.
One told The Independent: “He just likes being the centre of attention. It’s craven and the worst kind of politics… He could have no doubt got elected in 2024 but chose not to.”
He said Mr Burnham’s decision to throw his hat in the ring was the worst outcome for the party. “Because now it’s a distraction and a drama every time anyone in the process so much as coughs,” they said.
An MP until 2017, Mr Burnham left to become mayor of Greater Manchester. But a pathway back to the Commons opened up earlier this week when suspended Labour MP, Andrew Gwynne, formally stood down from the seat, citing ill-health.