Andy Burnham has tonight confirmed that he wants to be a candidate in the forthcoming Gorton and Denton byelection. The Greater Manchester mayor submitted an application before the 5pm deadline. Ten officers on Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) will tell Burnham by tomorrow what decision they reach.

‘The Gorton and Denton by-election looks to be a fascinating contest, even if Burnham is blocked.’

In his letter posted online, Burnham wrote that ‘this has been a difficult decision for me to make’ but that he wanted to stand as ‘there is now a direct threat to everything Great Manchester has always been about from a brand of politics which seeks to pit people against each other’. He says his return would be to help government ‘go further and faster’ on improving country and ‘communicate the difference it is making’. 

Burnham insists that,........

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