"Ever since Andy Burnham abandoned Westminster to become Greater Manchester's first ever mayor in 2017, he has been dogged with questions about returning to parliament for the top job. He never hid his ambition to become prime minister one day he couldn't, really, given that he tried and failed twice to become Labour party leader. But he insisted time and again that he was perfectly happy back in his beloved north, and had no plans to get back to London."
"Then on Saturday night, he finally cracked. He wrote to Labour's ruling body to ask for permission to stand in Gorton and Denton, promising a hopeful and unifying campaign, in what he admitted was a risky move. Winning the byelection was not a given and he would have to give up being the mayor if he succeeded. But instead he was blocked by the committee, including Keir Starmer, from standing at all."
Andy Burnham left Westminster in 2017 to become Greater Manchester's first mayor and has faced repeated questions about a parliamentary return. He previously sought the Labour leadership twice and harbored ambitions for the prime ministership while maintaining he was content as mayor. He applied to Labour's ruling body to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election, pledging a hopeful, unifying campaign and accepting the risk of relinquishing the mayoralty. The party committee, which included Keir Starmer, blocked his bid, a decision described by critics as a classic Labour stitch-up and not necessarily the end of his ambitions.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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