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Andy Burnham He has once again put himself on a collision course with Downing Street after saying the No 10 briefing suggested he was told he would be rejected before applying to become prime minister. labor candidates for gorton and denton by-election is “unreal”.
Sources close to mr. Keir Starmer Zeng told ITV that Mr Burnham “was clearly told that if he asked the National Electoral Commission committee to allow his nomination in the by-election, he would be refused. They said he chose to do so because he knew the outcome in advance.”
But in a public response to the claim, Mr Burnham said: “This is simply untrue.”
A source close to Manchester’s mayor later told ITV: “Andy Burnham An urgent call is being sought to speak to No 10 about his briefing, which he said was untrue and a breach of promises made to him by the Prime Minister. “
it is as Sir Keir Starmer Fighting growing backlash against the decision Stop Manchester Mayor from standing in by-election Around 50 Labor councilors in the city signed a letter of objection.
It is understood they have written to the Prime Minister and the chairman of Labour’s governing National Executive Committee (NEC), warning the decision was a “real gift” to the British people. Reform BritainPoll suggests Mr Burnham may be Labour’s best chance of ‘winning’ vacant job gorton and denton seat.
As tensions rise within the Labor Party, signatories to the letter said there was “no legitimate reason” to stop Mr Burnham and asked Labour’s National Electoral Committee to “reassess” the decision.
It comes after 10 members of the governing body, including Sir Keir, voted to reject Mr Burnham’s candidacy. greater manchester The by-election will be held at Sunday’s meeting.
Critics accuse Sir Keir and his allies of blocking Mr Burnham’s candidacy for factional reasons, fearing Labor’s poll numbers and his personal ratings are in trouble and fearing a challenge to the mayor’s leadership.
But the Prime Minister insisted an extra election for Manchester mayor would “divert our resources away from local elections” which are expected to be a huge blow to Labour.
Facing growing calls for a reconsideration, Housing Minister Steve Reid said on Tuesday the decision was “done and dusted” and the party would “fight to win” the by-election.
He also insisted in an interview with Times Radio that the decision to block Mr Burnham had “absolutely nothing” to do with avoiding a leadership bid for Sir Keir.
“This has absolutely nothing to do with it,” he said. “Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee has overwhelmingly decided that Andy should continue as Mayor of Manchester as he was only elected two years ago for a four-year term.”
However, the impact does not appear to be hurting Labour’s position in the polls, with support increasing two points to 21%, with new YouGov suggesting the party may be able to close the gap on reform. Nigel FarageThe party’s approval rating is 25% (up one spot).
Earlier, Reform Party leader Farage said he believed the Manchester mayor’s absence from the by-election increased the party’s chances of winning seats, admitting “it will be difficult for us to defeat him”.
Gorton and Denton by-elections are expected to be held on February 26 after former MP Andrew Gwyn resigned due to health reasons.
British news presenter and former university academic Matt Goodwin has been named as the candidate to reform Britain in the race, with Labour’s left-wing political rivals the Greens also eyeing the campaign.
The Gorton and Denton by-elections come as Sir Keir is about to embark on a trip to China, which will take him away from the domestic political scene for several days.
On Monday, the Prime Minister, like other senior Labor figures, sought to focus the attention of his MPs on the by-election after facing criticism for blocking Burnham’s bid to stand.
Former cabinet minister and backbencher Louise Haigh said at the weekend that the Labor establishment should reverse its decision “otherwise I think we will all regret it”, while Simon Over MP called the decision an “own goal” by Sir Keir’s advisers.
Meanwhile, left-wing backbencher Kim Johnson said the Prime Minister “needs to consider his position” after the decision to block Mr Burnham’s candidacy, claiming it showed Sir Keir was not putting country before party.
But Sir Keir defended the decision, insisting the “battle of our time” is between Labor and Reform Britain.
At a gathering of Labor backbenchers on Monday night, where many raised questions about the impact of the decision to block Mr Burnham, the prime minister’s close ally, Lord Advocate General Lord Helmer, urged MPs not to focus on Labour’s internal politics.
Chief pollster Lord Robert Hayward, a Tory peer, warned Labor was making the same mistake the Tories made at the end of government by focusing on trying to change the leader.
He said: “What will happen is that Labor MPs will start to say ‘we need to try something different’ and get themselves into that mindset.
“It’s like the Conservatives after Boris Johnson. Of course, this is all based on Keir Starmer’s poor personal approval ratings and the support ratings of the party under his leadership.”
“Logic actually tells you it’s not going to make any difference at all, and not for the Conservatives either. But things have gotten so bad that a ‘we need to try something different’ mentality has taken over. Labor is repeating the same mistakes.”