Burnham barred from byelection to help Labour ‘focus’, says Scotland secretary

Commons seat campaign by Greater Manchester mayor mid-term would drain resources, says Douglas AlexanderLabour’s decision to bar Andy Burnham from standing in a Westminster byelection was about “focus than about factionalism”, so the party would not be distracted ahead of vital elections in May, Douglas Alexander, the Scotland secretary, has said.Defending the decision by the party’s national executive committee (NEC) to block the Greater Manchester mayor from being a candidate for the Gorton and Denton byelection, Alexander said this was not because Keir Starmer was scared of a leadership challenge. Continue reading...