Starmer leadership rival Burnham blocked from seeking return to UK parliament
Labour Party committee blocks Andy Burnham’s candidacy in an 8-1 vote, denying him a platform before the next election
British Labour Party politician Andy Burnham was on Sunday blocked from trying to return to parliament, with lawmakers on the left of the party accusing Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his allies of a political move to keep out a potential leadership rival.
Burnham said he was disappointed at the decision and, while he called for unity in the Labour Party, criticised the way the situation had been handled.
One of the party’s most high-profile politicians and an elected mayor in the northern English city of Manchester, Burnham said on Saturday he wanted to become Labour’s candidate to replace a lawmaker who resigned on Thursday.
Labour is trailing in opinion polls to Nigel Farage’s right-wing populist Reform UK ahead of bellwether local elections in May and has so far struggled to deliver on promises of a stronger economy, better public services and tighter borders.
In a decision likely to bring simmering tension within Labour to a fresh boil, Burnham was refused permission to stand by the party’s National Executive Committee on Sunday, losing a vote of senior officers, including Starmer himself, by 8 to 1.
Blocking Burnham’s candidacy denies him the chance of winning a platform from which he could have formally challenged Starmer, because only members of parliament can trigger a leadership contest.