Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has launched a fierce attack on Sir Keir Starmer after Labour blocked Andy Burnham from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election, in a move that has inflamed tensions inside the party.
The Greater Manchester Mayor had applied to stand as the Labour candidate in the upcoming contest but was blocked by Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC), with concerns reportedly raised over the cost and organisational implications of triggering a replacement mayoral election.
The intervention has sparked anger across parts of the party, with some Labour figures arguing that local members should have been given the chance to pick their candidate in a high-profile Greater Manchester seat.
McDonnell, who served as Shadow Chancellor under Jeremy Corbyn, posted a blistering response on X, writing: “Do not underestimate the depth of anger people will feel about this disgusting decision. If you think it strengthens you I tell you it will simply hasten your demise. You could have shown magnanimous leadership but instead it’s cowardice.”
The decision to block Burnham has been viewed by some Labour MPs as a major gamble, with fears that preventing one of the party’s best-known regional figures from standing could backfire politically — particularly as Labour continues to trail Reform UK in national opinion polls.
Burnham, as a directly elected mayor, was required to seek NEC approval to stand, with the move understood to have been weighed against the cost of holding a replacement mayoral election. The last Greater Manchester mayoral election is reported to have cost around £4.7m.
The decision was made by a group of NEC members including Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who said earlier on Sunday that allowing elected mayors to run as candidates in parliamentary by-elections had “organisational implications” for the party.
