Andy Burnham has announced he has sought permission to stand for selection as the Labour party candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
On Thursday 22 January, Andrew Gwynne, the former health minister, announced he would be resigning as an MP on health grounds. Since then speculation has been building as to whether Burnham would put himself forward for selection as the Labour candidate to replace him. General applications close at 23.59 on Sunday. However, as Burnham is a metro mayor he must gain permission from a select group of officers on Labour’s National Executive Committee (which includes Keir Starmer). The deadline to put in an application was 5pm on Saturday. The officers group will meet on Sunday morning (25 January) to decide whether to allow Burnham permission to run for selection.
Announcing his candidacy, Burnham said: “Nobody wanted or expected a by-election at this time and I have given careful thought to what is in the best interests of our party and the city-region I represent.” He added: “With that in mind, I have come to the conclusion that this is the moment to mount the strongest possible defence of what we stand for and what we have build in this city over many generations.”
Burnham based his argument for running on the work he has done as Mayor of Greater Manchester. In his letter to the NEC he said: “I see this by-election as the frontline of that fight for the Manchester Way and I feel I owe it to a city which has given me so much to lead from the front, despite the risks involved.” He added: “with [the NEC’s] permission to stand, I would run a hopeful and unifying campaign, with a broad appeal to voters, focusing on the positivity around what we have achieved, whilst at the same time being honest about the alienation that people feel from politics.”
Praising the current government, Burnham said he applauded it for putting people before profit. But he added: “my role in returning would be to use my experience to help it go further and faster”.
Pressure has been building on the prime minister and the central Labour party not to block Burnham’s candidacy. Speaking at the Fabians Annual Conference in central London on Saturday, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, Lucy Powell and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, both urged the PM to allow Burnham to put himself forward. Several MPs including Nadia Whittome, Karl Turner, and Jo White have also publicly said Burnham should be allowed to stand.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, is expected to urge the government to allow Burnham to stand in a speech at the Labour North West conference tomorrow afternoon. Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, who was speaking at the Fabians new year conference as the news broke also backed allowing Burnham to stand. He said: “I very much hope the local party will have the option of selecting Andy Burnham as the candidate.”
Now that Burnham has announced his application for candidacy, he will need to secure the permission of the NEC to step down as the Mayor of Greater Manchester – triggering another by-election for the mayoralty. That decision now lies with a select group of NEC officers, which includes Keir Starmer. No date for the by-election has been set.
[Further reading: Andy Burnham’s people]
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