Labour Mayor Andy Burnham has fired back at Downing Street sources who claimed he had been told that his decision to stand in the Gorton and Denton byelection would be refused. In a strongly-worded response, Burnham stated that these claims were "simply untrue" and accused No 10 of lying about his intentions. The controversy erupted after ITV's Robert Peston suggested that sources close to Prime Minister Keir Starmer had told Burnham not to apply to stand in the byelection.
Burnham has since revealed that he spent the weekend having conversations with senior party officials and those in No 10, discussing the pros and cons of his candidacy. He insisted that he was unaware of any indication that his application would be blocked by the National Executive Committee (NEC), which ultimately refused to allow him to stand.
Labour Deputy Leader Lucy Powell has urged voters not to stay at home for the byelection, warning that Reform UK's candidate could "help them" win the seat. Meanwhile, 50 Labour MPs signed a letter objecting to Burnham's exclusion from the contest, describing it as a "real gift" to Reform.
Reform UK has unveiled hard-right activist Matthew Goodwin as its candidate in Gorton and Denton, which was won by Labour with just over 50% of the vote in 2024. Powell described Goodwin's candidacy as an offer of "division, animosity, and hatred".
The byelection battle is heating up, with speculation about who will contest the seat for Labour still ongoing. Burnham himself has ruled out a second bid after losing his own seat to Reform UK, while another former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has mocked Reform's lack of knowledge about the constituency.
Burnham has since revealed that he spent the weekend having conversations with senior party officials and those in No 10, discussing the pros and cons of his candidacy. He insisted that he was unaware of any indication that his application would be blocked by the National Executive Committee (NEC), which ultimately refused to allow him to stand.
Labour Deputy Leader Lucy Powell has urged voters not to stay at home for the byelection, warning that Reform UK's candidate could "help them" win the seat. Meanwhile, 50 Labour MPs signed a letter objecting to Burnham's exclusion from the contest, describing it as a "real gift" to Reform.
Reform UK has unveiled hard-right activist Matthew Goodwin as its candidate in Gorton and Denton, which was won by Labour with just over 50% of the vote in 2024. Powell described Goodwin's candidacy as an offer of "division, animosity, and hatred".
The byelection battle is heating up, with speculation about who will contest the seat for Labour still ongoing. Burnham himself has ruled out a second bid after losing his own seat to Reform UK, while another former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has mocked Reform's lack of knowledge about the constituency.
I think Andy Burnham is right on this one. The whole thing reeks of politics as usual 
. Those sources at No 10 just trying to discredit him without any real reason. I bet it was just a bunch of whispering in dark corridors trying to sway the NEC's decision 
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this byelection is gonna be a wild ride. Labour's got its work cut out if they wanna keep that seat 
. And Burnham's right to stand up for himself - who gets disrespected like that? 
. Maybe there's more to this story than we're seeing 
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Here's a quick flowchart of my thoughts: 
! I'm low-key disappointed in Andy Burnham for going against Labour HQ, but also kinda proud that he stood up to them 
. The fact that 50 Labour MPs signed a letter objecting to his exclusion is wild, and I'm here for it 
. Lucy Powell's warnings about Reform UK's candidate are on point, though - Matthew Goodwin does seem like a hard-right activist 
. Burnham's conversations with senior party officials and No 10 officials were a good move, tbh 
. Let's see who will ultimately win the seat for Labour... fingers crossed it's not a Reform UK win 
#LabourVsReform #ByelectionBattles #PartyPolitics #LeadershipShuffle
. I mean, I knew it was gonna be a tight one with Reform UK's Matthew Goodwin in the mix, but to see 50 Labour MPs signing that letter objecting to Burnham being excluded from the contest is just wild 
. Still, I get why Lucy Powell is urging people not to stay at home - Reform UK's candidate does have a reputation for being pretty...unconventional 
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. It feels like the stakes are higher than they need to be, you know? Anyway, I'm curious to see who ends up contesting that seat in the end 
I'm not surprised that Labour is trying to sabotage Andy Burnham in the byelection. It's just a classic move to protect their own interests and maintain power. They're basically trying to strong-arm him into backing down, like he owes them or something. But let's be real, who does Burnham think he is? 
like what were they waiting for? 
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. This byelection has all the makings of a real test case for Labour and its leadership