The prime minister has insisted his party’s decision to not allow Andy Burnham to run in an upcoming by-election is correct, because doing so would “divert our resources”.
An election is set to be held in the Greater Manchester seat of Gorton and Denton, after Andrew Gwynne made a deal to allow him to stand down as an MP.
Mr Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, asked Labour for permission to run in the seat in order to gain a role in Westminster, but the party’s ruling committee voted against him doing so.
On Sunday, Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) voted against Mr Burnham resigning his role as mayor and running by eight to one, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood – who chairs the NEC – abstaining.
Defending the decision this morning, Sir Keir Starmer praised the mayor, saying he is doing a “great job” – but insisted allowing him to run for a Westminster seat would “divert our resources” away from campaigns in May elections.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham. Pic. PA
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.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
