Keir Starmer ‘underneath menace’ as ‘management rival’ confirms parliamentary bid
After weeks of speculation, Andy Burnham has finally announced he intends to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election, in a (truthfully expected) decision that will cause rumblings in Westminster.
The Greater Manchester Mayor confirmed he applied to Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) for permission to seek selection for the contest on Saturday, to help mount the “strongest possible defence of what we stand for”.
It comes as the current MP, Andrew Gwynne, is standing down for health reasons. He was given the sack and suspended from the Labour party after offensive messages were uncovered in a WhatsApp group named Trigger Me Timbers.
(Image: PA)
The NEC can still block his bid for selection by refusing permission, and supporters of Keir Starmer are reported to be working to prevent him from becoming a candidate.
In his letter to the NEC, Mr Burnham said: “I have come to the conclusion that this is the moment to mount the strongest possible defence of what we stand for and what we have built in this city over many generations. Manchester inspires because it is a place that has always stood for the equality of all people, right back to the cotton workers of 1862 who refused to handle slave-picked cotton.
“In my time as Mayor, have drawn strength from that tradition and worked hard to unite people. We are famous for our togetherness and, from that foundation, we are achieving huge success as the UK’s fastest-growing city region. And yet, there is now a direct threat to everything Greater Manchester has always been about from a brand of politics which seeks to pit people against each other.
(Image: PA)
“It brings with it a poison we should not let enter our city-region. I see this by-election as the frontline of that fight for the Manchester Way and feel I owe it to a city which has given me so much to lead it from the front, despite the risks involved.
“With your permission to stand, I would run a hopeful and unifying campaign with broad appeal to voters, focusing on the positivity around what we have achieved, whilst at the same time being honest about the alienation people feel from politics.”
He added: “I am sad at the circumstances in which all this has come about and, while he clearly made mistakes, I want to recognise the dedicated service of Andrew Gwynne to this area over many years.”
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