Keir Starmer today dismissed fury at blocking Andy Burnham from returning as an MP.
The PM insisted that allowing the Manchester Mayor to quit to fight a looming Commons by-election would ‘divert resources’.
He said Mr Burnham was ‘doing a great job’ in his current role. The comments, on a visit in London, came as the mayor warned that Labour now faces losing to Reform in the Gorton and Denton seat.
Sir Keir is facing a growing revolt on his own benches over preventing the first step towards a leadership challenge.
The NEC declared yesterday that creating a vacancy for the Manchester mayoralty would be an unacceptable risk and cost large sums of money.
Critics insist the premier has only delayed his demise, with backbenchers openly calling for him to consider his position and Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner ‘on manoeuvres’.
The situation could deteriorate quickly, with Mr Burnham due to speak at a think-tank event this morning and Sir Keir leaving for China in the coming days.
Andy Burnham voiced frustration after the PM led a dramatic move by the ruling national executive committee to prevent him standing
Keir Starmer watched his Arsenal team lose to Manchester United in London yesterday afternoon
Andy Burnham stoked the standoff with Sir Keir today warning that Labourwill lose the by-election he was blocked from fighting
Sir Keir said: ‘We have really important elections already across England for local councils, very important elections in Wales for the Government there and very important elections in Scotland for the Scottish Government that will affect millions of people. And we’re out campaigning on the cost of living and they’re very important elections.
‘We need all of our focus on those elections.
‘Andy Burnham’s doing a great job as the mayor of Manchester, but having an election for the mayor of Manchester when it’s not necessary would divert our resources away from the elections that we must have, that we must fight and win.
‘And resources, whether that’s money or people, need to be focused on the elections that we must have, not elections that we don’t have to have. And that was the basis of the NEC decision.’
In a message to his MPs, he said: ‘The single most important thing for people across the country is the cost of living and that’s why we’re bearing down on it in everything we’re doing, pulling every lever.
‘We must never lose sight of that whatever is happening internationally – and there’s a lot – whatever is happening across the country on other issues – and there’s a lot – the single thing that matters most is the cost of living.
‘All of our members, all of our supporters, all of our MPs, know that.
‘The second thing I’d say is there is a fight. Yes, there is a fight, but that fight is with Reform and we all need to line up together to be in that fight, all playing our part.
‘I think that everybody in the Labour Party, everybody who’s a Labour MP, wants to be in that fight, wants to fight alongside all their colleagues in a fight that matters hugely to the future of our country.’
Mr Burnham formally applied to put his name forward for the Gorton and Denton by-election on Saturday, despite apparently being told privately that the NEC would not allow it.
The contest has been triggered by the resignation of ex-MP Andrew Gwynne, who has been allowed to retire on medical grounds.
A meeting of the NEC’s most senior officers yesterday blocked Mr Burnham from going on the list. Sir Keir himself was among eight who voted against giving Mr Burnham permission, while deputy leader Lucy Powell was the sole member in favour.
Nigel Farage has vowed to throw everything at the Denton battle, with polls suggesting Reform could seize the seat. It is unclear when the by-election will happen, with speculation that Labour could even try to wait until May when a swathe of local contests are happening.
Touring broadcast studios for the government this morning, Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said: ‘The judgment was more about focus than factionalism.’
He added: ‘Whatever choice the national executive committee made yesterday, it was likely that there would be criticism and there would be commentary in the papers today. There were, if you like, ditches on both sides of the road.’
If the NEC had allowed Mr Burnham to stand, there would have been ‘the equivalent of 20 by-elections diverting time, energy and money to a Manchester mayoral contest’ which Labour might lose.
‘We would certainly have fought that contest hard, but there would have been some degree of risk – Reform are outspending us about 10-to-one at the moment and in the biggest and most unnecessary electoral contest in England, you can never take anything for granted.
‘That doesn’t strike me as a risk-free choice.’
Tom Baldwin, a close ally of Sir Keir who wrote his biography, posted on X last night: ‘I’ve always liked @AndyBurnhamGM but the prospect of him returning to Westminster has already added to inward-looking psychodrama that does no one any good.
‘And an unnecessary by-election for Mayor of Manchester might well have resulted in long term damage to his reputation too.’
The Denton contest has been triggered by the resignation of ex-MP Andrew Gwynne, who has been allowed to retire on medical grounds
But Mr Burnham shot back: ‘I’m not sure losing a by-election does us any good either, Tom.’
Left-wing MPs have been leading the condemnation of the NEC move, although dissent goes beyond the ‘usual suspects’.
Liverpool Riverside MP Kim Johnson told Times Radio: ‘This just plays into the level of factionalism that has been inherent in this party for too long and it has to stop.
‘And Keir Starmer now needs to consider his own position as leader of this party.’
Mr Burnham slated the ‘way the Labour Party is being run’ yesterday after revealing that the media was told about the decision before he was.
Posting on X, Mr Burnham said: ‘I am disappointed by the NEC decision and concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us.’
He added: ‘The fact that the media was informed of the NEC decision before I was tells you everything you need to know about the way the Labour Party is being run these days.
‘You would think that over 30 years of service would count for something, but sadly not.’
Amid the furore, Sir Keir was spotted in the stands at Emirates Stadium watching his football team Arsenal lose 3-2 at home to Manchester United.
Labour faces difficult local elections in May in which the party is expected to perform disastrously in Wales and Scotland and lose seats to Reform UK.
Karl Turner, Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull East, said the decision to sabotage Mr Burnham’s bid ‘provides more chance of a challenge’ if the party loses the by-election.
Labour MP and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell said he had sent a message to the PM to tell him that ‘if he thinks this strengthens his position, I think it will used to hasten his demise if he’s not careful’.
And former Labour MP Diane Abbott, now an independent, added: ‘If the results in May are as bad as we all think they’re going to be, a challenger will emerge from somewhere.’
