Labour blocks Andy Burnham from standing in Gorton and Denton by-election and challenging Starmer

The Greater Manchester Mayor had sought permission to stand after former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne had resigned on health grounds.

Mr Burnham said he was seeking a return to Parliament as “Manchester won’t be able to be everything it should be without similar changes at a national level. This is why I feel the need to go back”.

However, following a meeting this morning, the NEC announced it was blocking Mr Burnham from standing.

A statement from Labour said: “The NEC believes that causing an unnecessary election for the position of Greater Manchester Mayor would have a substantial and disproportionate impact on party campaign resources ahead of the local elections and elections to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd in May.”

NEC sources said there had been a “very clear majority” against allowing Mr Burnham from applying for selection in the seat due to concerns about the cost of fighting a mayoral election.

The decision was made by a 10-strong sub-group of the NEC, chaired by the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.

Ahead of the vote, Ms Mahmood told Sky News: “I think everybody could do with less psychodrama.

“And my clear message to all of my colleagues, whoever they are, in Cabinet, elsewhere in the country, is we get to decide if we’re going to indulge in a psychodrama. I don’t want to.”

However, blocking Mr Burnham is already causing anger on the left of the party, after several senior figures called for local members to have the final say on whether he should stand.

They included deputy leader Lucy Powell, herself an NEC member, and Cabinet minister Ed Miliband, who had both told a conference in London on Saturday that the decision should be left to members.

Mr Miliband told the Fabian Society’s annual conference that Mr Burnham would be “a massive asset” in Parliament, adding Sir Keir “needs the best possible team serving under him”.

He also dismissed the suggestion that Mr Burnham’s return to Westminster would raise questions about the Prime Minister’s leadership, saying the party “needs to be loyal to Keir and it needs to get on with the job of serving the country”.

Former Cabinet minister and Sheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh said Labour should “change course … otherwise we’ll all come to regret this”.

She said: “This is an incredibly disappointing decision. There’s no point pretending we don’t have a problem connecting with the public at the minute.

“The leadership should not feel threatened by having one of the most popular politicians in the country as part of the national team.

“It’s not too late to change course and make the right decision. Otherwise I think we’ll all come to regret this.”

While Leeds East MP Richard Burgon called for an “emergency NEC meeting” as he accused the party leadership of being prepared to lose a by-election to protect “factional interests”.

While Labour are expected to win the seat on the edge of the City of Manchester and Tameside, Reform are only narrowly behind in the bookies’ odds.

Mr Burgon said: “Keir Starmer and his clique have shown they’re prepared to lose Gorton and Denton to Reform – just to protect narrow factional interests.

“It’s weak leadership – and will only deepen the crisis the party is in. There should now be an emergency NEC meeting to resolve this mess.”

Mr Burnham, the most popular figure amongst voters within the Labour Party, was expected to challenge Sir Keir for the leadership, if he was reelected as an MP.

The other current contender to potentially succeed Sir Keir is Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

A northern Labour source told The Yorkshire Post: “It’s not too late to change this decision - bringing in Andy is Keir’s best chance of survival.

“This will only undermine Keir and expose him to a challenge from Wes.

“We need the strongest candidate in Gorton and Denton to face off Reform, and to block Andy from doing that is ridiculous.”

On Saturday, Mr Burnham announced he was seeking permission to contest the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election after Mr Gwynne said he was standing down.

The mayor said the by-election was “the front line” of a fight against “a brand of politics which seeks to pit people against each other”.

He said: “I owe it to a city which has given me so much to lead it from the front, despite the risks involved.”

The Labour statement added: “Andy Burnham is doing a great job as Mayor of Greater Manchester.

“We believe it is in the best interests of the party to avoid an unnecessary Mayoral election, which would use substantial amounts of taxpayers’ money and resources that are better spent tackling the cost of living crisis.

“We look forward to fighting and winning the upcoming by-election in Gorton and Denton and the positive campaign ahead, which will be firmly focused on tackling the cost of living and bringing investment to the local area.”