It has been a frenzied 48 hours of Labour leadership speculation after Andy Burnham tried to throw his hat in the ring for a return to parliament. On Sunday, Starmer's allies emphatically tried to shut that down, as the NEC's panel voted 8-1 to block the Manchester mayor's bid. Only the deputy Labour leader and Greater Manchester MP Lucy Powell supported Burnham, with the chair, home secretary Shabana Mahmood, abstaining (as is custom). The reasons cited were concerns over the unnecessary costs