Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Angela Rayner is set to back Andy Burnham being allowed to stand in a by-election that could pave the way for him to challenge Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as Labour leader, a move that threatens to divide the party.
Labour’s National Executive Committee said on Friday that hopefuls had less than 24 hours to seek permission from the party to stand in the Gorton and Denton poll.
It forces a tight deadline on Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, who has been mulling a return to Westminster in order to take on the prime minister.
A note to Labour members said that sitting mayors would need the “express permission” of the NEC in order to apply.
A challenge from Burnham, who has become more critical of the government as the prime minister’s popularity slumps in the polls, risks further dividing a party already fighting to stave off Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK.
Burnham cannot mount a leadership challenge without returning to Westminster as an MP and is thought to have been seeking a seat for some months.
But Starmer’s allies on the NEC could block him standing in the by-election, which is being held after MP Andrew Gwynne stepped down from the Greater Manchester seat of Gorton and Denton.
Former deputy prime minister Rayner — who is also seen as harbouring leadership ambitions — is expected to back Burnham being allowed to compete in the by-election on Saturday at a North West conference, according to one person familiar with the discussions.
Her support, which comes after she was forced to step down in September over a tax scandal, will raise the stakes for Starmer and his allies, who fear a concerted effort to destabilise his leadership.
One well-informed MP described it as “inconceivable” that the NEC would allow Burnham to stand, given it would be viewed as a direct challenge to Starmer’s position.
A second agreed but predicted blocking his candidacy would lead to “civil war”.
Burnham is one of the most popular Labour politicians with the general public and has the backing of a large number of MPs on the left of the party. He signalled a possible intention to challenge Starmer last September, shortly before the party’s annual conference.
But some Labour MPs have criticised Burnham as a self-interested opportunist who could further destabilise a party struggling for support, just 18 months after it won a landslide at the 2024 election.
The NEC could block him on grounds of causing damage to the wider party, risking Labour’s hold on the Manchester mayoralty or the additional cost of having to run a mayoral by-election because of his departure.
On Friday the head of Unison, the UK’s largest trade union, threw her weight behind Burnham being allowed to compete for the seat, accusing the Labour Party of “control freakery”.
“I’m sure all trade unionists expect a democratic process for Gorton and Denton in which local party members decide who they want to represent them,” said Andrea Egan, a leftwinger who was elected Unison’s general secretary last month.
“We’ve seen enough control freakery in the Labour party and it has done our movement nothing but harm,” she added on X.
Jo White, who leads the so-called “Red Wall” group of MPs in the north of England, echoed that view saying a “London stitch up will be a disaster for Labour”.
One backbench Labour MP on the left of the party said they would “welcome Andy coming back”.
“I think he’s an experienced, progressive voice which is much needed at present,” the MP said.
“It would be extremely foolish to block him. Keir would look weak.”
Westminster was already rife with speculation about a possible challenge to Starmer’s leadership this year, with health secretary Wes Streeting and Rayner both viewed as making preparations.
The point of maximum political peril for Starmer was thought to be after Scottish, Welsh and local elections in May, when Labour are predicted to do fare badly.
But the prospect of Burnham returning to Westminster could convince other prospective challengers to move earlier.