Allies ofAndy Burnhamare said to be hoping to seize on escalating Labour infighting in order to clear the path for his eventualreturn to Westminster.
Sir Keir Starmer is fighting for his political life after the latestrevelations around Peter Mandelson’s vettingprompted calls for his resignation. The scandal has exacerbated divisons within Labour, with many fearing the party could face a crippling defeat at the polls in May.
The Greater Manchester mayor has been one of the most talked about threats to SirKeir’s leadership in recent months, with speculation about a potential challenge having grown since mid-2025 when he repeatedly failed to rule out a Labour leadership bid.
But tensions came to a head earlier this year when Mr Burnham was blocked by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) from running in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
Critics accused SirKeirof blocking Mr Burnham’s candidacy in the constituency - where Labour suffered a crippling defeat to the Greens - in order to see off a leadership challenge.
Allies of Mr Burnham are now reportedly hoping to exploit Labour infighting to seize control of the NEC at a reshuffle later this year, potentially clearing an easier path for him to return to Parliament.
One person close to Mr Burnham told theFinancial Timesthat he was “keeping an eye” on how numbers may change within the party’s NEC.
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A Labour MP said: “There is a whole slate of NEC posts up for grabs in the autumn and you’ll see a shift to the left and away from Starmer loyalists, and after that it’ll be harder to stop Burnham coming back to Westminster.”
Another veteran Labour official told the paper: “It will change the balance if you have more members who are anti the leadership.”
One Starmer-loyalist NEC member said a future decision to let Mr Burnham run for Parliament “depends on what the mood of the party is at the time”.
“Just because we blocked him last time, doesn’t mean we’ll block him next time,” they said.
But one person close the Mr Burnham said the idea that he would stand down as the Mayor of Manchester to stand in a by-election was a “complete non-starter”.
Around 16 of the 40 places on the NEC are expected to come up for grabs in July, marking an opportunity for a faction more supportive of Mr Burnham to gain control.
The election will take place after May’s local elections, which are expected to serve a major blow to both the party and Sir Keir’s authority, which is already under threat amid the latest accusations of a “cover up” over Lord Mandelson’s appointment.
Labour and Mr Burnham have been contacted for a comment.
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