The prime minister spoke to Andy Burnham on Monday and was in touch with him again on Tuesday, following Labour’s decision to block him from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
Speaking to reporters on the plane to China, Sir Keir Starmer rejected claims that Burnham had been told in advance that he would not be accepted as a candidate, adding: “I know who was talking to Andy on Saturday and that wasn’t said.”
Asked if he would welcome Burnham back into the Commons, the prime minister said “that’s a matter for Andy” and that he was doing a “first-class job” as mayor of Greater Manchester.
The prime minister claimed that only Labour could beat Reform UK in Gorton and Denton.
“You can see from their [Reform’s] candidate what politics they’re going to bring to that constituency, the politics of division, of toxic division, of tearing people apart.
“That’s not what that constituency is about, it’s not what Manchester is about, so this is a straight fight between Labour and Reform and there’s only one party that can stop the politics of Reform in the by-election and that’s the Labour Party.”
The academic-turned-political campaigner Matt Goodwin has been selected as Reform’s candidate in the forthcoming by-election.
A 10-member panel of Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) blocked Burnham’s candidacy over the weekend, citing the “disproportionate” cost to the party of taking part in a contest to replace him as mayor.
Burnham denied reports that he had been told beforehand by Downing Street that he would be prevented from standing.
“It is simply untrue to say that I was told that I would be blocked,” he told reporters. “I went through the whole weekend having conversations with people in No 10.”
Sir Keir was among eight NEC members voting to bar Burnham, who has been seen by some as a potential rival for the party leadership should he enter Parliament.
Around 50 Labour MPs later signed a letter urging the NEC to “re-evaluate” its decision, News understands.
At the 2024 general election, Labour won Gorton and Denton with a 13,000 majority. Reform UK came second with 5,000 votes, narrowly beating the Green Party into third place.
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Andrew Gwynne, who stepped down last week for health reasons.