Sir Keir Starmer’s allies are planning to block potential leadership rival Andy Burnham’s route back to Westminster, according to reports.
Former Labour minister Andrew Gwynne, who had the whip removed over offensive WhatsApp messages, stood down as an MP on Thursday.
His departure creates a route for Mr Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, to make a Commons comeback that would allow him to challenge Sir Keir’s position, following speculation that he could stand in the upcoming by-election for Gorton and Denton.
However, the prime minister’s allies on Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) have vowed to try to block Mr Burnham from standing in the May by-election, The Times has reported.
There is an “overwhelming anti-Burnham coalition that spans left and right on the NEC”, according to one of its members.
Another told the newspaper that the prospect of a Manchester mayoral election is “worrying even the most anti-leadership members”.
A third said they would support a Burnham leadership in a “utopia” but conceded the reality is “it’ll be so bad in areas we are already bleeding votes”.
It has even been reported that No 10 is toying with the idea of imposing a “loyalty pledge” in which candidates would have to confirm their allegiance to Sir Keir. Consequently, if Mr Burnham launched a leadership bid, he could be painted as a traitor.
Despite repeatedly declining to rule out a Commons comeback or leadership challenge, the Manchester mayor urged people not to “rush to conclusions” following Mr Gwynne’s resignation.
If successful, Mr Burnham could return to parliament just as the prime minister reaches his lowest ebb, with Scottish and Welsh elections and English council elections in May expected to be disastrous for Labour.
Just hours after the by-election was confirmed, Sir Keir warned his MPs to stop talking about potential leadership challenges, saying in an interview with Channel 4 News that “every minute we waste talking about anything other than the cost of living and stability in Europe and across the globe is a wasted minute”.
Mr Gwynne, who has been away from parliament on sick leave, had previously denied that he was intending to vacate the seat, saying in September that the “route to No 10” was not going to be through his seat.
He was sacked as health minister and suspended from the Labour Party in February last year over comments made in a WhatsApp group. He reportedly posted sexist comments about Angela Rayner, racist remarks about the Labour MP Diane Abbott and joked in a closed group chat with Labour figures based around Manchester about an elderly woman dying. At the time, he publicly apologised and said he regretted the “badly misjudged” remarks.
On Thursday afternoon, he confirmed he would stand down from his Gorton and Denton constituency, citing health reasons.
In a post on Facebook, the MP wrote: “I haven’t got everything right and I’ve certainly made mistakes, but I’ve always tried my very best and I have helped tens of thousands of constituents with their issues along the way. Indeed it’s been helping people that’s given me the greatest pleasure in these jobs."
Mr Gwynne said he had “suffered significant ill-health over most of the 21 years I've served as an MP”, which had been “greatly exacerbated by the impact of last year’s events regarding leaked text messages”.
Before the by-election was confirmed, Sir Keir would not say whether he supported the idea of Mr Burnham standing as an MP if a vacancy were to arise, but added that Mr Burnham was “doing an excellent job” as mayor.
Meanwhile, there has been widespread speculation over Mr Burnham’s leadership ambitions, with the mayor regularly tipped as the leading candidate to take over should Sir Keir’s position as prime minister become untenable.
Mr Burnham was the focus of such rumours at the Labour Party conference in September, when he revealed that MPs were privately urging him to challenge Sir Keir.
But he later criticised reports of a leadership bid, and wrote on X in December: “Quite a lot of rubbish in the papers today. Reminds me why I left Westminster in the first place!”
On Thursday afternoon, he said he was “in the dark” over a potential by-election. He said: “It’s not been confirmed to me. I’ve had no contact on this issue with Andrew or anyone close to him. I know him of old, of course, but I’m as in the dark about this as anyone.”
He added: “People shouldn’t rush to conclusions.”
Any by-election looks likely to be called to coincide with May’s elections. That would give Labour a greater chance of keeping the seat, and potentially the Greater Manchester mayoralty, against Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, currently riding high in nationwide opinion polls.
Mr Farage’s outfit, which does not have the infrastructure of larger parties, is already expected to be spread thin fighting for votes in Scotland, Wales and across English councils on 7 May.
But the timing raises the prospect that Mr Burnham could become an MP, a prerequisite for getting the top job, just as Sir Keir suffers his most significant blow in office.
There are fears Labour could face a wipeout in some areas at the upcoming local elections, in what could be a key moment in Sir Keir’s time as prime minister.
The most recent YouGov MRP, which was carried out in September 2025, projected a Labour hold in the constituency with Labour on 30 per cent and Reform UK on 24.
Earlier this month, the leading pollster Professor Sir John Curtice said Mr Burnham represented Labour’s best hope of keeping Nigel Farage out of No 10.
Sir John told The Independent he believed only Mr Burnham had the support within the Labour Party, and appeal to the wider electorate, to be an effective replacement for Sir Keir, who he said “doesn’t have the skill set for Downing Street”.
A YouGov poll last month also showed Mr Burnham was the clear frontrunner among the candidates tipped to succeed Sir Keir, ahead of former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and Mr Streeting. But there was a backlash among some Labour MPs against the idea of Mr Burnham standing. One Labour MP told The Independent that it would be “nothing more than a distraction that can roll on for months that we frankly don’t f***ing need”.
The Independent has contacted both Mr Gwynne and Mr Burnham for comment.
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