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Labour faced the prospect of civil war within the party on Sunday night after Keir Starmer<\/a> and his allies blocked Andy Burnham\u2019s return to parliament to stave off a potential leadership challenge.<\/p>\n There was widespread anger among Labour<\/a> MPs and union backers after the 10-strong \u201cofficers\u2019 group\u201d of the party\u2019s ruling body, including the prime minister himself, voted overwhelmingly to reject Burnham\u2019s request to seek selection for the upcoming Gorton and Denton byelection.<\/p>\n The national executive committee said picking Burnham would require a hugely expensive and destabilising election to replace him as mayor of Greater Manchester<\/a> less than halfway through his four-year term.<\/p>\n But MPs from across the party \u2013 many despairing at Starmer\u2019s leadership and not all of them natural allies of Burnham \u2013 condemned the \u201cpetty factionalism\u201d. Another called the decision a \u201chuge mistake\u201d, while a third said the leadership was \u201cmad\u201d not to make more of the self-styled \u201cKing of the North\u201d.<\/p>\n Andrea Egan, head of the huge Unison union, a major Labour funder, said members would be \u201cdisappointed and angry\u201d. A series of unions are understood to be in discussions about what they may do jointly to try to change the decision. \u201cThis is blatant gerrymandering,\u201d one union source said. \u201cIt will not do.\u201d<\/p>\n In a brief statement, Burnham said he was \u201cdisappointed\u201d by the NEC\u2019s decision, hitting out at \u201cthe way the Labour party is being run\u201d under Starmer and raising concerns about the impact of the decision on the byelection. Labour figures across the north-west are concerned that Reform UK could take the seat.<\/p>\n Starmer has faced near-constant internal unrest in recent months, with the party trailing in the polls and many MPs spooked by political misjudgements and the prospect of being wiped out by Reform UK at the next election.<\/p>\n His allies hope that keeping Burnham away from Westminster will shore up the prime minister\u2019s position and avoid damaging internal conflicts dominating the agenda in the run-up to the May elections. It also prevents a potential leadership coup if those go badly \u2013 although Burnham had denied this was his intention \u2013 and Starmer still faces threats from elsewhere.<\/p>\n But they acknowledge the decision comes at a cost by deepening internal rifts and further eroding party discipline, and that the prime minister could ultimately take the blame if Labour loses the byelection, eroding his position still further.<\/p>\n The decision will also cause disquiet among senior Labour figures, with Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, and Lucy Powell, Labour\u2019s deputy leader, having called in recent days for Burnham to be allowed to stand in the seat vacated last week<\/a> for health reasons by the ex-minister Andrew Gwynne.<\/p>\n