I'm focusing on being mayor, says Burnham, as Starmer defends decision to block by-election bid
1.
Burnham doing a 'great job' in Greater Manchester, says Starmerpublished at 10:04 GMT
Breaking
Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Andy Burnham is doing a "great job" as Greater Manchester mayor. But, he adds, that allowing him to run for a seat in Westminster would "divert our resources" from Labour campaigns in May's elections.
2.
'Full focus on my job as mayor of Greater Manchester' - Burnhampublished at 10:00 GMT
Breaking
Joe Pike
Political & Investigations Correspondent
Asked about the Labour national executive committee's decision to block his possible return to Westminster, Andy Burnham tells the BBC: "I am not making any comment. I've said what I needed to say and here I am back in my job. A full focus on my job as mayor of Greater Manchester." Speaking after an event in Manchester, he adds: "I'm at work. Enjoying the job." He refused to respond when asked whether he felt Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was scared of him.
3.
'You're stuck with me' - Burnham nods to weekend's events in speechpublished at 09:50 GMT
Rowan Bridge
North of England reporter
At the end of his short speech, Burnham tells the audience they will be "stuck with me making these arguments" about opening up opportunities for young people - a subtle nod to the events of the weekend. As he leaves, he is surrounded by the media - but says very little.
4.
Burnham jokes he's not had much going on this weekend in first appearance since decisionpublished at 09:36 GMT
Rowan Bridge
North of England reporter
Andy Burnham’s making his first public appearance since the Labour leadership blocked his attempt to become an MP. He’s launching a report into getting working class people into the media and arts. He began his comments with a joke, saying he’s read every word of the report, because he’s not had much else going on at the weekend.
5.
Labour figures remain divided over decision - a recap of what we've heard this morningpublished at 09:29 GMT
Throughout the morning we've been hearing from a number of Labour figures, as the fall out over the party's blocking of Burnham's bid to return to Westminster continues:
- Scotland Secretary Douglas Alexander suggested the decision has prevented "months of psychodrama" in the party and that it remains "fully committed" to winning the upcoming by-election
- Labour MP Nadia Whittome criticised the move, saying senior people in the party are "putting petty factional manoeuvring and settling personal scores above winning elections"
- Fellow Labour MP Andy McDonald said that the prime minister "should be embracing" Burnham and "taking the opportunity to have the best players out there on the pitch"
- However Graham Stringer, also a Labour MP, said he thinks Burnham shouldn't have put his name forward as a candidate in the first place - but he doesn't think "bureaucratic methods" should have been used to stop him
- Similarly, former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman says she is "slightly baffled" as to why Burnham decided to run, and called for Starmer to now try to "bring the party together"
6.
'Good competition for Starmer' or 'ulterior motives' - Gorton and Denton constituents react to Burnham blockingpublished at 09:15 GMT
Molly Brewer
BBC North West reporter
Voters in the Gorton and Denton constituency have shared their reactions after hearing that Andy Burnham will not be allowed to stand as their candidate in the upcoming by-election. John Dowling, 72, tells BBC North West Tonight: "He's done such a great job in Manchester, why couldn't he replicate that in government?" He adds: "People are very disillusioned with the Labour Party at the moment. The amount of broken promises and U-turns is horrendous." Susan Roughton, 62, adds that he has "always been a goodmayor" and says "it's a shame" he has been blocked from running. "Everyone should be allowed the opportunity tomake things better," she says. "He would have given good competition for Keir Starmer." But Anthony Quinn, 61, says he believes Burnham had "ulterior motives" in trying to run in the by-election, and that he was using it as a "stepping stone."
7.
'Bad manners' for party not to speak to Burnham first - MPpublished at 08:55 GMT
Labour MP Graham Stringer tells BBC Radio 5 Live that he does not think Burnham should have put his name forward for the by-election - but "I don't think bureaucratic methods should be used to stop candidates". "It leads to resentment, it leads to anger and splits within the party, which works its way through the system and no good comes of it," he says. As a reminder, Burnham is "disappointed" by Labour's decision - and says it was leaked to the media before he was told. Stringer says: "It's just simply bad mannered of the party structures not to talk to Andy first. [...] It seems to me that the normal channels of communication between people in this same party didn't happen."
8.
Alexander pressed on whether Burnham block was democraticpublished at 08:38 GMT
Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander has now spoken to the Today programme, having appeared on Breakfast a little earlier. He says Labour's national executive committee had to "try and weigh a challenging judgement". He questions whether it is in the Labour Party's interest to have an "unnecessary contest in Manchester", adding that it would absorb "time and money". Alexander is then asked whether the Labour Party believes the selection of candidates should be made by local party members. The BBC's Nick Robinson points out that Starmer has previously said selections need to be more democratic - not dictated by the NEC. What was decided yesterday was specifically in relation to a sitting mayor, Alexander says. See what others including Harriet Harman said on this earlier. But local members will be prevented from choosing Andy Burnham, Robinson says. Alexander says this clause on sitting mayors was "overwhelmingly endorsed" at the Labour Party conference a few years ago.
9.
Our best players should be on the pitch, says Labour MPpublished at 08:28 GMT
Labour MP Andy McDonald has been speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live - he says the prime minister "should be embracing" Andy Burnham and "taking the opportunity to have the best players out there on the pitch". "If we're going to exclude people from standing as candidates because they have ambitions of a higher office to deliver for this country, then I'm afraid the benches will be just about empty," he says. McDonald says the decision over Burnham was made "by 10 people on a Zoom call, with one abstaining... is that how we're going to deploy our democracy?"
10.
Is this about Starmer being strong or being weak?published at 08:20 GMT
Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent
The answer is both. It is an assertion of strength organisationally. Burnham was blocked in a vote of eight to one, with the charge being led by a speech from Sir Keir Starmer himself. That is a leader with the organisational self-confidence and political strength which allowed him to take control of the institutions of the Labour Party after he became leader six years ago. But it is also a reflection of weakness politically. Weakness because one of the big reasons for this decision is that allies of Starmer feared not only that if Burnham became an MP he would challenge for the leadership within months - but that he would win. That is not the public argument being advanced. Instead, Labour are talking about the expense, and the political risk, of a by-election for the Greater Manchester mayoralty - a position which has been contested three times with Labour never winning less than 63% of the vote. If allies of Starmer genuinely fear that without a massive investment of campaign money and resources they might lose the mayoralty, that is a quite breathtaking admission of political weakness.
11.
Labour putting 'petty factional manoeuvring' above winning elections - MPpublished at 08:17 GMT
The Labour MP for Nottingham East, Nadia Whittome, has been speaking to the Today programme on Radio 4. Whittome - a regular critic of the government - says that "blocking our only senior Labour politician with a net positive popularity rating...is putting petty factional manoeuvring and settling personal scores above winning elections". She says that it "should be a free choice for members" in the Gorton and Denton constituency as to who represents them at the by-election. Whittome will not be drawn on questions about leadership, but later adds: "What a lot of backbench MPs feel is that our loyalty is to the Labour Party - not to some of the people at the top of the Labour Party who are wrecking the party that we love."
12.
I'm slightly baffled why Burnham tried to run - Harmanpublished at 08:04 GMT
We're now hearing from Lords member and former Labour Party deputy leader Harriet Harman on BBC Radio 4's Today programme. The "default position" is that if you are a mayor, you can't run for Parliament, Harman says. She is "slightly baffled" why Andy Burnham made decision to try to run, she says, adding that it was "obvious" the NEC would support the decision taken by the party leader Keir Starmer. Before acting, Burnham should have tried to find out whether the way would be cleared. If not, it would have been better to have never applied at all, Harman says. Pushed on whether people want Starmer gone, Harman says leadership instability is a "symptom" of the problem, not the "cause". The task now is for Starmer to "bring the party together", and to continue focusing on "improving lives of people in this country", she adds.
13.
Who gets the blame if Labour now loses by-election?published at 07:57 GMT
Douglas Alexander is now asked who in the Labour Party should take the blame, if Labour were to lose the by-election in Gorton and Denton. "We shouldn't be making predictions before the by-election," he says, asking: "Why would we want to engage in post-match analysis before the ball has even been kicked?" Labour is "fully committed" to winning the by-election, he adds, saying the party will "throw everything we have" to making sure the constituency gets the "best representation". Also asked about Andy Burnham's criticism of the NEC decision leaking before he was informed, he says he "totally gets" why Burnham is frustrated. Pressed on other leaks against Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Alexander says: "Sadly, that's all too often [what happens in] politics."
14.
'We would have had months of psychodrama' - Alexanderpublished at 07:52 GMT
Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander tells BBC Breakfast that blocking Burnham from the by-election has prevented "months of psychodrama". Echoing the party message, the cabinet minister - who does not serve on Labour's NEC and did not have a vote on Sunday - says a contest to replace the mayor of Greater Manchester would "cost the party many hundreds of thousands of pounds and cost millions of pounds to the public". Alexander says that the NEC's judgement was that a Manchester mayoral contest would "distract time, energy and focus from what are critical elections" in other places across the country where Labour are up against Reform UK. Asked whether Keir Starmer is in a stronger or weaker position following the decision, Alexander says the PM "would have been criticised whatever decision was reached". He adds that "frankly, if a different decision had been taken yesterday I think it's perfectly plausible that we would have had months of psychodrama: 'who's in, who's out, who's up, who's down in Westminster'." "Honestly, I think that's the kind of conversations that the public absolutely hate."
15.
Labour felt it was the least-bad option. It seems the decision will holdpublished at 07:47 GMT
Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent
Sir Keir Starmer’s allies knew there would be a backlash to their decision to block Andy Burnham from returning to parliament. It would have been factored into their calculation that blocking him was, from their point of view, the least bad option. And it is worth saying that while there is a big backlash this morning, it does not feel so overwhelming that Labour’s national executive committee is under pressure to reverse its ruling. Yes, the backlash is far from confined to the usual suspects who object to many of Starmer’s decisions. Lots of MPs are unhappy, including privately some cabinet ministers. But there are also plenty who are happy that he has been blocked. Some because they do not want the drama. Others because they want a different candidate to succeed Starmer whenever that time comes. Burnham is clearly smarting. But he is not demanding that the decision by Labour high command is reversed. It feels like the decision to block Burnham is going to hold - and that was not necessarily a given yesterday."
16.
'We need Andy' - or 'let's move on from the psychodrama'?published at 07:32 GMT
Labour's MPs are divided on Andy Burnham's future - with some backing the committee's decision to block, while others believe he should be given the chance to contest the by-election in Gorton. Rachael Maskell MP tells Radio 4's Westminster Hour: "I do believe the ordinary members of Denton and Gorton should have the opportunity to choose the candidate of their choice, and to block Andy today was clearly the wrong decision." Simon Opher, MP for Stroud, adds: "We sort of need Andy Burnham at the moment – I don’t know if you’ve noticed but we’re down in the polls and rumbling along the bottom and he’s an excellent communicator and an excellent campaigner." East Hull MP Karl Turner says on social media the decision is "disappointing", adding that the parliamentary party is "very cross". And John McDonnell, who served as shadow chancellor under Jeremy Corbyn, says Keir Starmer should not "underestimate the depth of anger people will feel about this disgusting decision". However, some backed the NEC's vote. Local Government Secretary Steve Reed says the result is "disappointing for Andy" but is "good news for the people of Greater Manchester because he's been doing such a good job as the mayor there". John Slinger, the MP for Rugby, shares a message on X stating that "the quick and clear decision of Labour's NEC means that we can move on from the damaging introspection and psychodrama of the last week."
17.
Keir Starmer among NEC members who voted to block Burnhampublished at 07:18 GMT
Labour says its national executive committee (NEC) believes Andy Burnham is "doing a great job as mayor of Greater Manchester", and that causing an "unnecessary mayoral election" would use "substantial amounts of taxpayers' money". NEC sources told the BBC the committee voted 8-1 in favour of blocking Burnham’s candidacy in a meeting on Sunday. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was among those who voted against Burnham. HomeSecretary Shabana Mahmood abstained as the chair, while Labour's deputy leader Lucy Powell voted to allow him to stand. A Labour Party statement says: "The NEC believes that causing an unnecessary election for the position of Greater Manchester mayor would have a substantial and disproportionate impact on party campaign resources ahead of the local elections and elections to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd in May. Although the party would be confident of retaining themayoralty, the NEC could not put Labour's control of Greater Manchester at any risk." Labour sources have told the BBC that, in the meeting, concerns were raised about the costs of a mayoral election and the "prospect of a divisive campaign".
18.
Burnham saga unlikely to be last act in the drama of Starmer's leadershippublished at 07:06 GMT
Chris Mason
Political editor
The other day, I compared the saga of Andy Burnham, his ambitions and the forthcoming by-election in Greater Manchester to a long and twisting marble run. If, and it was a big if, the marble trundled all the way to the bottom, it was possible to imagine Burnham as prime minister before this year was out. But, as I said then, it was also possible the marble would fly off the run spectacularly - which is precisely what has now happened. In an exercise of brute power, which is simultaneously an illustration of how they perceive their own weakness, No 10 has scuppered Burnham's attempted run from Manchester to Westminster and perhaps on to Downing Street. No 10 has calculated that it would rather weather a short-term storm than authorise a circus lasting weeks, then months, with Burnham as a by-election candidate and one question dominating: what's your plan if you become prime minister? All this means that in the space of just a few months, those loyal to the prime minister have briefed heavily against Health Secretary Wes Streeting, whose ambitions they view with nervousness too - and have now blocked Andy Burnham from returning to Westminster. Their critics, within the Labour Party and beyond, say both are acts of a weak prime minister seeking to cripple capable rivals who might, they argue, do a considerably better job than him in No 10. This will likely be far from the last act this year in the drama of Sir Keir Starmer's leadership, and how much of a future it has. Read Chris Mason's full analysis here.
19.
'You would think 30 years of service would count for something'published at 06:55 GMT
In a message posted on X shortly before 6pm - hours after the NEC vote - Burnham said: "I am disappointed by today's NEC decision and concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us. To whoever is Labour's candidate and to our members in Manchester and Tameside: you will have my full support and I will be there whenever you need me." He also claimed that "the media was informed of the NEC decision before I was". That, he says, "tells you everything you need to know about the way the Labour Party is being run these
