London — Manchester’s ambitious mayor was barred from trying to re-enter Parliament in a special election in the city in the coming weeks, sparking controversy within Britain’s ruling Labour Party on Sunday, critics claim. Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not want to see a potential opponent back in the House of Commons.
andy burnham Joe, who has been in charge of the Greater Manchester region since 2017, urged Labour’s governing committee on Saturday to stand as the party’s candidate for the Gorton and Denton constituency in the upcoming election, which is expected to be held by the end of February.
Had he won that election in a traditionally safe Labour seat, he would have had to step down from his job as mayor, meaning another special election there would likely have had to be held. May 2028 marks the expiration of Burnham’s mandate.
A 10-strong group of Labour’s National Executive Committee, responsible for the party’s election machinery, made the decision to block Burnham.
Labour said the NEC had decided to refuse to allow Burnham to stand for Manchester Mayor to avoid an “unnecessary election” which would have a “substantial and disproportionate impact on party campaign resources”.
Many experts predict that Labour will suffer defeat in the May elections.
The May elections are widely predicted to be the UK’s equivalent of the US midterm elections. If current opinion polls are any guide, Labour is expected to lose power in Wales for the first time since the legislature was formed in 1999, fall well short of gaining power in Scotland and lose local elections in England.
Since winning the July 2024 general election with a landslide, Labour has seen its poll ratings decline, partly due to a series of policy mistakes directly linked to Starmer’s decision-making.
other parties, including anti-immigration reform uk And the Greens have been the main beneficiaries of Labour’s apparent decline in support.
The Prime Minister’s poll ratings are particularly poor at present and many within the party think he may face a leadership challenge if the May elections are as unsuccessful as anticipated.
Burnham, who served in Labour governments under Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown in the 2000s, has made no secret of her ambition to lead the party at some stage in the future. Burnham, known as the “King of the North” in reference to the television fantasy show “Game of Thrones”, has twice previously run for the Labour leadership and lost.
Although Burnham insisted she would be a team player in her request on Saturday, many Starmer allies appear to disagree, as she expressed a number of views that put her at odds with the prime minister, particularly on economic policy. Last September, he said he wanted to “start a debate” about the direction of policy and how to defeat reform.
Labour MLA John Slinger said the “quick and clear decision” meant the party could “move on from the damaging introspection and psychoanalysis of the past week” and “come together” behind a final candidate.
Others were stunned by the decision.
Former cabinet minister Lewis Haigh said it was “incredibly disappointing” and called on the NEC to “change course and make the right decision”.
