Shabana Mahmood praises Andy Burnham before meeting to decide his fate

The Home Secretary has praised Andy Burnham as an “exceptional politician” as she prepares to chair a meeting that will decide whether he can stand for Parliament.

Members of Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) will meet on Sunday morning to decide whether to grant Mr Burnham permission to apply for selection as the party’s candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election.

Senior Labour figures including Cabinet minister Ed Miliband and deputy leader Lucy Powell have said local party members should have the option of choosing Mr Burnham.

But some within the NEC have expressed concern it would lead to an expensive mayoral by-election in Greater Manchester, and allies of the Prime Minister fear Mr Burnham’s suspected leadership ambitions would destabilise the Government.

Ms Mahmood, who will chair Sunday’s NEC meeting, would not be drawn on whether she would back Mr Burnham in media interviews before the decision.

The Home Secretary told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that she wanted to be “an impartial chair” and would not “leave myself open to the accusation that I’m trying to sway the debate in one direction or the other”.

But she also praised Mr Burnham, saying he was “an exceptional politician” and adding: “I always think we should have all of our best players making their contribution to the Labour Government.”

As mayor of Greater Manchester, Mr Burnham has had to ask the NEC for permission to even apply to be candidate in Gorton and Denton, following a change to Labour rules last year prompted by concern about the implications of mayoral by-elections.

Mr Burnham, a cabinet minister under Gordon Brown, announced he had sought the NEC’s permission on Saturday.

In a letter to the ruling body, he said the by-election was “the front line” of a fight against “a brand of politics which seeks to pit people against each other”.

He said: “I owe it to a city which has given me so much to lead it from the front, despite the risks involved.”

In her interviews on Sunday, Ms Mahmood said she had appreciated the “tone” of Mr Burnham’s letter, adding he had “made his case in a very fair-minded and decent way”.

Ms Mahmood also hit back at critics who said the decision on Mr Burnham’s candidacy should be made by the full NEC, rather than a smaller group of 10 officers, saying this was “normal practice” for selection decisions.

Mr Burnham, who has twice sought to lead the Labour Party, is widely believed to be seeking a return to Westminster as a prelude to another leadership bid.

But Ms Mahmood dismissed this suggestion, saying: “I think that we should take Andy at his word. He has said himself that the best person to be Prime Minister is Keir Starmer.”

She also echoed the comments of some of her Cabinet colleagues, urging the party to refuse to “indulge in psychodrama” similar to that seen under the Conservatives.

She said: “I don’t think the country will forgive us if we end up doing exactly the same as the Conservative Party. So my clear message to all colleagues everywhere is just calm down.”

The Gorton and Denton by-election was triggered on Thursday after the sitting MP, Andrew Gwynne, announced his resignation from Parliament on health grounds.

Although Mr Gwynne won the seat with 51% of the vote in 2024, Mr Burnham could still face a tough fight given the collapse in Labour’s polling position and the rise of both Reform UK and the Green Party.

If elected, Mr Burnham would be legally required to stand down as mayor of Greater Manchester, triggering a city-wide by-election.

In a letter to the NEC asking for permission to stand, he said he would “give my all” in any mayoral by-election, adding he was “confident” Labour could win.