Row erupts within UK’s governing Labour Party after popular mayor blocked from upcoming election

LONDON (AP) — A row erupted Sunday within Britain’s governing Labour Party after the ambitious mayor of Manchester was prevented from trying to re-enter Parliament at a special election in the city in the coming weeks, with critics claiming that Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not want to see a potential rival back in the House of Commons.

Andy Burnham, who has been in charge of the Greater Manchester region since 2017, made a request to Labour’s governing committee on Saturday to stand as the party’s candidate in the upcoming election for the Gorton and Denton constituency, which is expected to take place by the end of February.

If he ended up winning that election in a traditionally safe Labour seat, then he would have to stand down from his job as mayor, meaning that there would likely have to be another special election there. Burnham’s mandate ends in May 2028.

The decision to block Burnham was made by a 10-strong group of Labour’s National Executive Committee, the body behind the party’s election machinery.

Labour said the NEC had decided to deny Burnham permission to stand in order to avoid “an unnecessary election” for Manchester mayor, which “would have a substantial and disproportionate impact on party campaign resources.”

Labour is widely predicted to suffer a drubbing at a raft of elections in May — Britain’s equivalent of the U.S. midterms. If current opinion polls are any guide, then Labour is expected to lose power in Wales for the first time since the legislature was created in 1999, fall way short of reclaiming power in Scotland and get battered in local elections in England.

Since winning July 2024’s general election by a landslide, Labour has seen its poll ratings tank, partly because of a series of policy missteps, which have been directly linked to Starmer’s decision-making.

Other parties, including the anti-immigration Reform U.K. and the Greens, have been the main beneficiaries of Labour’s apparent drop in support.

The prime minister’s poll ratings are particularly dire at present and many inside the party think he may face a leadership challenge if May’s elections end up being as bad as predicted.

Burnham, who served in Labour governments in the 2000s under prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, has made no secret of his ambition to lead the party at some stage in the future. Burnham, widely known as the “King of the North” in reference to the television fantasy show “Game of Thrones,” has twice before fought for the Labour leadership and lost.

Though Burnham insisted he would be a team player in his request on Saturday, many Starmer allies appear unconvinced given he has expressed several views that put him at odds with the prime minister, notably on economic policy. Last September, he said he wanted to “launch a debate” about the direction of policy and how to defeat Reform.

Labour lawmaker John Slinger said the “quick and clear decision” meant the party could “move on from the damaging introspection and psychodrama of the last week” and “pull together” behind the eventual candidate.

Others were aghast at the decision.

Former Cabinet minister Louise Haigh said it was “incredibly disappointing” and called for the NEC to “change course and make the right decision.”