"Andy Burnham's doing a great job as the mayor of Manchester, but having an election for the mayor of Manchester when it's not necessary would divert our resources away from the elections that we must have, that we must fight and win. And resources, whether that's money or people, need to be focused on the elections that we must have, not elections that we don't have to have. And that was the basis of the NEC decision."
"We're out campaigning on the cost of living and they're very important elections - we need all of our focus on those elections,"
"avoid an unnecessary mayoral election"
"petty factional manoeuvring"
Sir Keir Starmer defended the National Executive Committee's decision to block Andy Burnham from standing as the Labour candidate in Gorton and Denton, saying the move would avoid an unnecessary mayoral election and protect resources for May's key elections. The NEC included Sir Keir and cited the need to focus money and personnel on the Senedd, Scottish parliament and English local contests where Labour faces risks. Some backbenchers labelled the ban "petty factional manoeuvring" and urged reconsideration. Sir Keir noted past support for Burnham's 2015 leadership bid and current collaboration on projects such as Northern Powerhouse Rail.
Read at www.bbc.com
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