Andy Burnham latest: Labour rebels accuse Starmer of ‘stitch-up’ after mayor’s Westminster return blocked

Allowing Andy Burnham to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election would not have been a “risk-free choice”, a Cabinet minister has argued.

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander told Times Radio that if the NEC had allowed Mr Burnham to stand, there would have been “the equivalent of 20 by-elections diverting time, energy and money to a Manchester mayoral contest” which Labour might lose.

He said: “We would certainly have fought that contest hard, but there would have been some degree of risk – Reform are outspending us about 10-to-one at the moment and in the biggest and most unnecessary electoral contest in England, you can never take anything for granted.

“That doesn’t strike me as a risk-free choice.”

The decision to block Andy Burnham from seeking a return to Westminster was more about “focus than factionalism”, with Labour seeking to avoid the distraction of a mayoral by-election in Greater Manchester, a Cabinet minister said.

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander acknowledged Sir Keir Starmer’s role in the decision to block his potential leadership rival, telling Times Radio: “This was a decision, of course, that the Prime Minister was involved in, but was actually a decision taken by a subcommittee of Labour’s national executive committee (NEC).”

He said: “The judgment was more about focus than factionalism.”

Mr Alexander continued: “Whatever choice the national executive committee made yesterday, it was likely that there would be criticism and there would be commentary in the papers today. There were, if you like, ditches on both sides of the road.”

If the NEC had allowed Mr Burnham to stand, there would have been “the equivalent of 20 by-elections diverting time, energy and money to a Manchester mayoral contest” which Labour might lose.

“We would certainly have fought that contest hard, but there would have been some degree of risk – Reform are outspending us about 10-to-one at the moment and in the biggest and most unnecessary electoral contest in England, you can never take anything for granted.

“That doesn’t strike me as a risk-free choice.”

Labour MPs are said to be in open revolt against Sir Keir Starmer and his allies after what they believe to be a “stitch-up” in blocking Andy Burnham from returning to Westminster.

Backbenchers are said to have described the move as “completely outrageous” and “incredibly disappointing”, with The Telegraph reporting that Angela Rayner is among those who disagreed with the decision.

A letter is circulating among MPs that claims the decision amounted to “a remote stitch-up from a small group of people at the very top in London”.

It reportedly warns that losing the by-election would be “unimaginable… blocking [Mr Burnham] from even making his case to local members risks sending a message that the party does not respect devolution”.

They are calling on the National Executive Committee to re-evaulate their decision, with one Starmer ally stating: “No. It’s done.”

Andy Burnham has given a blunt response to Sir Keir Starmer’s biographer, who wrote on social media that the notion of him returning to Westminster would add to recent “psychodrama” and would not be in Labour’s best interests.

Tom Baldwin wrote: “Ive always liked @AndyBurnhamGM but the prospect of him returning to Westminster has already added to inward-looking psychodrama that does no one any good. And an unnecessary by-election for Mayor of Manchester might well have resulted in long term damage to his reputation too.”

In response, the Greater Manchester mayor said: “I’m not sure losing a by-election does us any good either, Tom.”

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Political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Andy Burnham has said he is “concerned” about the impact of the Labour Party’s decision to bar him from the Gorton and Denton by-election.

In a statement on social media hours after the move, Mr Burnham said: “I am disappointed by today’s NEC decision and concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us.”

The decision to bar the mayor of Greater Manchester and former MP Andy Burnham from standing for the now vacant parliamentary seat of Gorton and Denton raises a host of questions, both about Sir Keir Starmer himself, as party leader and prime minister, and about the governance of the Labour Party.

In his 18 months as prime minister, Sir Keir has often appeared a weak and indecisive leader, with policy U-turns and prevarications under pressure more in evidence than any determined pursuit of the objectives set out in the manifesto on which he led Labour to its landslide election victory.

There is, however, another side to that picture. Where party and government discipline is concerned, and – it might be added – his own survival as leader, he has shown a determination little short of ruthlessness. This was fully on display in the way he ejected Jeremy Corbyn from the party and his attempt to do the same to Diane Abbott. He was both unhesitant and unrepentant in removing the whip from MPs who rebelled against proposed government welfare reforms (only to yield on the policy issues later), and he demonstrated a similar resolution in effectively sacking both his deputy, Angela Rayner, and his hand-picked ambassador in Washington, Peter Mandelson, when their missteps threatened to harm his own position.

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A Labour MP has warned that “there’ll be a lot of bloodletting” following the move to block Andy Burnham from standing in the upcoming by-election in Gorton and Denton.

Karl Denton issued the warning to Metro, while he also told LBC that the NEC’s decision was a “mistake”.