The stage is set for an epic showdown in the Gorton and Denton by-election, as Reform UK prepares to challenge one of Labour’s most prominent figures, Andy Burnham. The former Mayor of Greater Manchester is seeking to return to Westminster, a move that could fuel speculation about his potential to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as the next Labour leader and Prime Minister.
Reform UK has vowed to “give it our all” in the by-election, which was triggered by the resignation of Labour’s Andrew Gwynne. The party sees this as an opportunity to gain a significant boost in momentum ahead of the May elections, as they believe the left-wing Green vote will split Labour’s support.
Burnham, in a letter to Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC), has outlined his rationale for wanting to return to Westminster, running nearly 700 words. The mayor has claimed that there is a “direct threat to everything Greater Manchester has always been about from a brand of politics which seeks to pit people against each other,” and that this “poison” must not be allowed to enter the city region.
Pledging to “run a hopeful and unifying campaign,” Burnham has said he feels the “need to go back” to Westminster because “Manchester won’t be able to be everything it should be” unless similar changes are made at a national level to the “different way of doing things” he believes he has pioneered as mayor.
In a clear sign of his support for greater state control over key utilities, Burnham has stated that “when so many people in a city-region like this are struggling to afford the daily basics, they are surely right to question why the country gave away control of them in the first place, in whose interests it is run and why no government of any colour has corrected these things for them.”
The Labour leadership will face a dilemma if Burnham is granted permission to stand in the by-election, as it could reignite speculation about his leadership ambitions ahead of the May elections and the challenge of a by-election for the Manchester mayoralty.
A Labour MP has predicted that if Burnham makes it to Westminster, “there is clearly a leadership challenge in the offing, whatever Andy says.” However, the Conservative MP Matt Vickers has accused Labour of “descending into open warfare over who should be their leader,” arguing that the public deserves better than this “psychodrama.”
As the battle lines are drawn, the outcome of the Gorton and Denton by-election could have far-reaching consequences for the political landscape in the UK.