Andy Burnham Backers Push for Extended Labour Leadership Election Timetable

LONDON — Backers of Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham are pressing the Labour Party’s ruling body to agree an extended leadership election timetable, three people with knowledge of the conversations have told POLITICO — a move that would give him a chance to return to Parliament and become eligible to run for prime minister. The party’s national executive committee, or NEC, is expected to meet in the coming days to agree on a timeline for a leadership election if Health Secretary Wes Streeting challenges embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Burnham’s backers are concerned that if Streeting moves to begin the process within days, the nomination window will be far too short for Burnham to win a parliamentary by-election. Without being an MP, he’ll be ineligible to win nominations for leader. In last year’s race for deputy Labour leader the first round of nominations closed just six days after the incumbent, Angela Rayner, resigned. Yet it would take Burnham until June at the very earliest to clear all the necessary hurdles to become an MP. Burnham supporters are asking NEC members to agree an election timetable with a nomination window long enough to include a full by-election campaign, said the three people cited above, all granted anonymity to speak frankly. This would make the timetable more akin to Labour’s three-and-a-half month leadership election in 2020. One of the three people, a Burnham supporter, said: “If there is a contest the NEC will have to set a process that allows that to happen. It would be absurd not to let Andy stand.” But a Labour official said a long contest would be “insanity” while an MP said: “The voters gave their verdict on May 7 and it’s in no one’s interest to take months over our response.” The process for Burnham to run in a by-election is complicated. To do so he would also have to be cleared to stand in the seat by the NEC’s 10 officers. POLITICO reported this week that some NEC members are reconsidering their previous opposition to allowing Burnham to stand in a by-election. Any race will already see Labour arguing for months over who should be prime minister, rendering Starmer effectively a lame duck at a time of rising living costs and ongoing war in the Middle East. Several NEC members and Starmer loyalists would likely oppose a long contest. Cabinet ministers were arguing to MPs on Wednesday night that holding a leadership election at all would effectively shut down government legislation for months, a person with knowledge of the conversations said. Five NEC members told POLITICO said there is a split on the ruling body over whether to follow a similar timetable to the deputy leadership election — which lasted seven weeks — or hold an extended nomination period. However, two of those five NEC members insisted the majority was in favor of a short contest. Attempts to lengthen the last contest for deputy were voted down. A third NEC member who is against a long contest said: “It would mean paralysis of government for another month. I think it would be very odd for NEC to massively delay a contested leadership candidate to suit someone who currently isn’t qualified to stand.” A fourth NEC member against a long contest said: “Eight weeks is standard, I don’t think any party in government has done longer than that. “I would personally want it to be shorter because I would genuinely worry about the impact on the country. We have to put voters first. “The idea of waiting for a by-election really worries me. I hope that’s not a serious position. It would be impacting the economy and the country for a hypothetical candidate.” But a fifth NEC member said the contest “definitely won’t” be a coronation — and pointed out that there was nothing in Labour’s rule book that determined how long the leadership timetable should be. Ten officers on the NEC would propose an election timetable which is then ratified or changed by a vote of all NEC members. The NEC has not yet penciled in a date to consider a leadership timetable. The next routine meeting is next Tuesday and it could either be reconfigured to consider an election timetable, or an emergency meeting could be held sooner. Starmer summoned ministers to two short-notice meetings on Wednesday night in his parliamentary office. In one of the meetings, he did not mention Streeting by name but said the coming events were going to be “utter chaos,” three people with knowledge of the meeting said. Sam Blewett contributed reporting.