British PM’s rival for Labour Party leadership blocked from contesting by-election

LONDON – British Labour Party politician Andy Burnham was on Jan 25 blocked from trying to return to Parliament by Labour’s governing body.

The decision will be seen as a political move by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his allies to keep out a potential leadership rival.

Mr Burnham, one of the party’s most high-profile politicians and an elected mayor in the northern English city of Manchester, said on Jan 24 that he wanted to become Labour’s candidate to replace a lawmaker who resigned on Jan 22.

Labour is trailing in opinion polls to Mr 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, Mr Burnham was refused permission to stand by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) on Jan 25, losing a vote of senior officers, including Starmer himself, by 8 to 1.

Blocking Mr Burnham’s candidacy will deny him the chance of winning a platform from which he could have formally challenged Mr Starmer, because only MPs can trigger a leadership contest.

“Andy Burnham is doing a great job as Mayor of Greater Manchester,” the Labour Party said in a statement.

“We believe it is in the best interests of the party to avoid an unnecessary Mayoral election,” the statement added, citing the cost to taxpayers – and Labour’s own campaign funds – of carrying out an election to replace him.

Mr Burnham did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision.

Critic accuses Starmer of cowardice

Such is the sensitivity over Mr Starmer’s future that the lawmaker’s resignation last week triggered a brief selloff in British government bonds, as investors speculated that Mr Burnham – viewed as favouring looser fiscal policy – could rejoin Parliament and position himself for a leadership challenge.

Labour’s popularity has plummeted since a landslide election win in July 2024, and the party is split over the best strategy to restore confidence.

Left-wing Labour lawmaker John McDonnell posted an open message to Mr Starmer on social media platform X after the NEC’s decision: “If you think it strengthens you I tell you it will simply hasten your demise. You could have shown magnanimous leadership, but instead it’s cowardice.”

Mr Burnham criticised Mr Starmer’s leadership in 2025, but said on Jan 24 he had assured the Prime Minister that he wanted to “support the work of the government, not undermine it”.

Mr Burnham ran unsuccessfully to become party leader in 2015, when he was beaten by Mr Jeremy Corbyn. He left Parliament to become Greater Manchester Mayor in 2017, but has remained an influential figure for some centre-left groups within Labour, particularly those critical of Mr Starmer’s more centrist stance. REUTERS