‘The best interests of our party’: Andy Burnham’s letter to Labour NEC in full

Andy Burnham: ‘I feel I owe it to a city which has given me so much to lead it from the front, despite the risks involved.’ Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Dear Chair,

I write to seek the permission of the NEC to enter the process for the selection of Labour’s candidate for the forthcoming Gorton and Denton byelection.