“Although the party would be confident of retaining the mayoralty, the NEC could not put Labour’s control of Greater Manchester at any risk,” it said.
“Andy Burnham is doing a great job as mayor of Greater Manchester. We believe it is in the best interests of the party to avoid an unnecessary mayoral election which would use substantial amounts of taxpayers’ money and resources that are better spent tackling the cost of living crisis.”
Burnham had announced on X his desire to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election on Saturday evening.
Former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne – who stood down on Friday – won the constituency comfortably in 2024.
But the collapse in Labour’s polling numbers since then means the party now faces a tough fight with the anti-immigrant Reform UK and the Green Party to retain the seat