Andy Burnham says he plans to stand in by-election

Andy Burnham has announced that he intends to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election, setting up a potential return to Westminster for the Greater Manchester mayor.

Mr Burnham said he had applied to Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) for permission to seek selection for the contest on Saturday.

He said the decision had been “difficult”, but now was “the moment to mount the strongest possible defence of what we stand for”.

The NEC can still block his bid for selection by refusing permission, and supporters of the Prime Minister are reported to be mobilising to prevent him from becoming a candidate.

But senior Labour figures have called for Mr Burnham to be allowed to stand, with the party’s deputy leader, Lucy Powell, saying the decision should be up to local party members.

And London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan explicitly called for him to be allowed to contest the election, telling a centre-left conference in London: “I think if Andy Burnham wants to be a member of Parliament, Andy Burnham should be allowed to be a member of Parliament.”

In a letter to the NEC asking for permission to stand, Mr Burnham said he had “given careful thought to what is in the best interests of our party and the city region I represent” following the announcement of a by-election “nobody wanted or expected”.

He argued there was now “a direct threat to everything Greater Manchester has always been about from a brand of politics which seeks to pit people against each other”.

He added: “I see this by-election as the front line of that fight for the Manchester way and I feel I owe it to a city which has given me so much to lead it from the front, despite the risks involved.”

Mr Burnham’s candidacy was welcomed by Cabinet minister Ed Miliband, who was giving a speech to the Fabian Society’s annual conference in London as the mayor made his announcement.

Mr Miliband said Mr Burnham had done “an outstanding job” as mayor and would be “a massive asset” in Parliament, adding he hoped the Gorton and Denton party would have “the option” of selecting him as a candidate.

He said: “My view about this is Keir needs the best possible team serving under him in Parliament.”

Mr Miliband denied that Mr Burnham’s return to Westminster would raise questions about Sir Keir’s leadership, given the mayor is widely believed to have ambitions to become leader himself.

He said: “The Labour party needs to look outwards and not inwards and it needs to be loyal to Keir and it needs to get on with the job of serving the country.”

The by-election was triggered on Thursday after the sitting MP, Andrew Gwynne, announced his resignation from Parliament on health grounds.

Although Mr Gwynne won the seat with 51% of the vote in 2024, Mr Burnham could still face a tough fight given the collapse in Labour’s polling position and the rise of both Reform UK and the Green Party.