Sir Keir Starmer has defended the decision to block Andy Burnham from standing in an upcoming by-election. Burnham, who held a range of ministerial positions before standing down to become Mayor of Greater Manchester, is widely seen as a potential leadership challenger to Sir Keir should he return to Westminster. Labour's decision making body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), which includes Sir Keir, banned him from standing, saying the block on him running as the Labour candidate in