Andy Burnham has said he has sought permission to enter the selection process to run as a candidate for the Labour Party in the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election.

The Greater Manchester mayor said on X: “I have today written to the Chair of Labour’s National Executive Committee seeking permission to enter the selection process for a candidate for the forthcoming Gorton and Denton by-election.”

It comes after former minister Andrew Gwynne formally stepped down on Friday on health grounds.

As a directly-elected mayor, Mr Burnham needs to get approval from Labour’s ruling national executive committee (NEC) before entering the race to be the party’s candidate.

X

This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable X cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.


Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to X cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow X cookies for this session only.

Enable Cookies
Allow Cookies Once

In his letter to the NEC, which he shared on social media, Mr Burnham said the decision had been “difficult” but insisted he would support the work of the government “not undermine it” and that he had “passed on this assurance to the Prime Minister”.

Mr Burnham claimed 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.”

More on Andy Burnham

Related Topics:

If elected, Mr Burnham would be required by law to stand down as mayor of Greater Manchester, which would then trigger a by-election for that role.

If he became an MP, he could mount a leadership challenge against Sir Keir Starmer.

However, the NEC can still block his bid for selection by refusing permission, and supporters of Sir Keir are reported to be mobilising to prevent him from becoming a candidate.

Burnham decides the gamble is worth taking

Amanda Akass

Political correspondent

@amandaakass

Andy Burnham’s bid to return to Westminster poses a massive political dilemma for the Labour Party leadership.

Blocking the so-called ‘King in the North’, would cause outrage among the wing of the party already prone to rebelling against Sir Keir Starmer – and give grist to the mill of a Conservative Party that already delights in describing the PM as “weak”.

The NEC might justify that decision by arguing that calling a mayoral by-election after just two years in office is fraught with political risk – not to mention expense. Reform are on the march. There is no guarantee his Labour successor would win.

Enabling a route back to parliament for a popular politician who’s been incredibly open about his leadership ambitions, and his critique of the PM, may seem naïve.

Loyal Labour MPs argue the constant leadership speculation which would follow Burnham’s installation in parliament would be a self-inflicted psychodrama, an unnecessary distraction for a government already struggling to make headway with a weary public.

Burnham has told the NEC he wants to support the government, not undermine it. But circumstances change. And if he’s installed in the Commons ahead of a disastrous set of election results in May – there are many who might look to him for leadership.

For now Mr Burnham’s thrown down the gauntlet to the NEC – daring it to deny his request.

Of course, even if it decides to put him on the shortlist he’d still need to be picked by local party members – and then he’d have to actually win the by-election. But he’s decided the gamble is worth it.

But several senior Labour figures have called for Mr Burnham to be allowed to stand, with the party’s deputy leader, Lucy Powell, saying the decision should be up to local party members.

London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said: “I think if Andy Burnham wants to be a member of Parliament, Andy Burnham should be allowed to be a member of Parliament.”

Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, said Mr Burnham would be “a massive asset” in parliament, and hoped the Gorton and Denton party members would have “the option” of selecting him as a candidate.

Read more from Sky News:
Trump pays tribute to UK soldiers after Afghanistan remarks row
Iran warns any attack will mean ‘all-out war’

Andy Burnham's confirmation of running in the by-election could see him take on Sir Keir Starmer. Pic: PA
Image:
Andy Burnham’s confirmation of running in the by-election could see him take on Sir Keir Starmer. Pic: PA

The timetable for the Gorton and Denton by-election is short.

The deadline for applicants to put their name forward is midnight on Sunday, with a longlist of candidates set to be drawn up by a selection panel on Monday.

Shortlisting interviews will be held on Tuesday before hustings and selection will take place next Saturday.

Mr Burnham lost two previous Labour leadership challenges – against Mr Miliband in 2010 and Jeremy Corbyn in 2015.