Labour MP's Letter

Labour MPs described their mood in a letter to Sir Keir Starmer as "anxious and angry". Or to quote the full sentence, the 50 MPs who put their signatures to this letter said the blocking of Andy Burnham from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election had caused them a "huge amount of anxiety and anger".

This blocking of Andy Burnham from standing in the above by-election will allow the Greens under Zack Polanski and Reform under Nigel Farage to put in a huge surge in this by-election. The prospect of a Reform candidate winning the seat has set off alarm bells in supporters of Andy Burnham. Describing a Reform victory as "unimaginable" and "This decision (to block Andy) is a real gift to Nigel Farage". The letter calls on Sir Keir Starmer to reconvene the NEC and allow Andy Burnham to stand.

The NEC, or the National Executive Committee, the decision-making body of the Labour Party, decided to block Mr. Burnham from standing. The reason given by Sir Keir was that the Labour Party could not waste time choosing another mayoral candidate to replace Andy Burnham. Sir Keir said Mr. Burnham is only halfway through his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester. So, now, Andy Burnham remains as Mayor of Greater Manchester at least for the foreseeable future. It's not only Andy Burnham supporters who will be frustrated at Andy being blocked. Andy himself will be feeling angry and depressed, but that doesn't mean he can't try again.

Andy Burnham, or to give him his nickname, "The King of the North", has been talking about a return to Westminster for a while. So when the chance of a by-election came up, he jumped at the chance. Many feel Andy Burnham would be the natural replacement for Sir Keir Starmer. Many in the country and within the Labour Party have fallen out of love with Starmer. They see a dystopian government causing a dystopian Britain out of ideas. Britain under Burnham, many feel, would be a better deal than under the current prime minister, Starmer.

Mr. Burnham himself has expressed the idea of returning to parliament and eventually challenging Mr. Starmer to be Leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister. Some are going to say Mr. Starmer is running scared of Mr. Burnham, hence the blocking of Andy Burnham. Whether this is the case, I cannot tell, and it's doubtful other pundits can either. The most we can do is speculate, as with anything. Only Sir Keir and those close to him know why Mr. Burnham was not allowed to stand. It could be out of fear, or as Sir Keir says, Andy Burnham is only halfway through his job as mayor. Or it could be that both things apply.

Another Labour candidate will now go forward in this seat to stand for Labour. The Labour candidate chosen could very well win this seat. However, one cannot downplay the rise and rise of Reform UK and the Green Party. Both parties are a big danger to both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party. Nationally, this is certainly the case, and it will be the case in this by-election. This is a real worry for Labour and the Conservatives. Zack Polanski of the Greens has made no secret that he wants the Greens to replace the Labour Party. Likewise, Nigel Farage considers the Conservatives under Kemi Badenoch a busted flush. Several Tory MPs (Conservative) have jumped ship and gone over to Reform. No MPs have joined the Greens in parliament, but it could happen.

So for now, Sir Keir Starmer is safe. But that doesn't remove the fact that Andy Burnham is still out there. There may come a time when Sir Keir cannot block Andy from returning, and that's when it gets interesting.