Andy Burnham says he was in a ‘better position than anybody’ to beat Reform in by-election

Andy Burnham has insisted he was in a “better position than anybody” to beat Reform UK in the upcoming by-election in Gorton and Denton, days after he was blocked from standing for the seat.

The Greater Manchester mayor was prevented from running by Labour’s NEC committee amid widespread speculation he was plotting a leadership bid.

The decision to block Mr Burnham has deepened divisions within Labour, with some concerned the party could lose the seat to Reform UK or the Green Party.

Polling that shows Labour is the closest to rivalling Reform in the constituency, with Greens expected to come in third place.

On Thursday, Mr Burnham denied he wanted to “undermine” Sir Keir Starmer by seeking to stand in the contest, and insisted he put himself forward to stand in the highly anticipated contest because he believed it was “in the best interests of Greater Manchester”.

Speaking about Reform UK, he said Nigel Farage’s party “threatens” what he “has built in Greater Manchester” as mayor.

“They put it at risk because it's all about pitting people against each other and causing division,” he said during a phone-in on BBC Radio Manchester.

“Wanting to consolidate everything we’ve built here in Greater Manchester over generations – that was a persuasive factor in me putting my name forward.”

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He added: “Because of what I’ve contributed to building in Greater Manchester, I was in a strong position to fight back this different type of politics that is trying to come in and trying to win our council seats and come into Greater Manchester in a big way.

“I believed I was probably in a better position than anybody to fight back against that, and that's why I put myself forward to them.”

However, he added he would be campaigning for the Labour candidate – who is expected to be announced on Saturday – regardless of being blocked from standing in the area.

The Gorton and Denton by-election is expected to take place on 26 February, after former MP Andrew Gwynne stood down for health reasons.

Sir Keir is battling a growing rebellion over the decision to block the Manchester mayor from standing in a by-election in the city, with around 50 Labour MPs having signed a letter objecting to it earlier this week.

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Critics have accused Sir Keir and his allies of preventing Mr Burnham’s candidacy for factional reasons, fearing a leadership challenge from the mayor as both Labour’s poll ratings and his personal approval ratings flounder.

But the prime minister has insisted that an extra election for the mayor of Manchester would “divert our resources” away from the local elections, which are already expected to be extremely bruising for Labour.

Mr Burnham addressed rumours that the bid to stand was an attempt to undermine Sir Keir’s leadership of the Labour Party.

“I want this to be known as well: I spoke to senior people in the party, including the home secretary. We had a really great conversation,” he said.

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“And I did ask to speak to the prime minister, because I wanted to assure him of something I put in the letter that supported my application, and it was that I wasn’t coming in to undermine him or the government.

“I was coming in to see if I could contribute, because some of the things I know are holding Greater Manchester back are problems at that level.”

Asked for his thoughts on a conversation he and the PM had on Monday, Mr Burnham said: “It was a fair exchange, but we both said how we how we felt, and I was glad to have that conversation and a chance to say how I felt.

“I would have preferred, obviously, to speak in advance to the decision to assure him of what I was trying to do. As I say, I think it could have created a more positive path for everybody, including the prime minister, including the government.”