Party’s governing body allows Greater Manchester mayor to run for selection as candidate in Makerfield
Andy Burnham has cleared the first hurdle as he seeks to become an MP again after Labour’s governing body said it would approve his request to stand in the candidate selection process for the upcoming Makerfield byelection.
The Greater Manchester mayor has two years of his term remaining, which means there will also need to be a mayoral byelection if he stands. Under Labour rules, sitting mayors need the approval of the party’s national executive committee (NEC) to stand for Westminster. He would also need to be formally selected.
If he wins the byelection, Burnham is widely expected to challenge Keir Starmer for the party leadership. To do so, he would need the support of 81 Labour MPs, or 20% of the party in parliament.
Burnham was turned down by the NEC in February to stand in the Gorton and Denton byelection. But after the sitting Makerfield MP, Josh Simons, said on Thursday he would give up his seat in the hope that Burnham could enter Downing Street, which has a big sway over NEC decisions, the committee indicated it would not do so again.
