Burnham could be blocked from standing as MP by all-women shortlist, says Mahmood ...Middle East

Andy Burnham could be blocked from standing as an MP by an all-women shortlist, the Home Secretary has said.

Labour’s ruling body is set to decide whether he can stand as a by-election candidate after he announced plans for a return to Westminster.

The party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) is due to meet virtually on Sunday after the Manchester mayor applied for permission to contest the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election.

The move comes amid speculation that Burnham has ambitions to replace Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister.

Mahmood set to speak to BBC

Shabana Mahmood is set to be questioned shortly by the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg prior to huge policing reforms in England and Wales being announced tomorrow.

The Government intends to slash police forces numbers from 43 to make way for 12 “mega” forces in a bid to save money and give officers more resources to boost crime-fighting.

The Home Secretary has also announced the creation of a new National Police Service, dubbed a “British FBI”,.

It will take over counter-terror, fraud, and criminal gang investigations.

Mahmood says there is a “strong case” for bringing in social media for under 16s

Shabana Mahmood said there is a “strong case” for bringing a social media ban for under 16s in the UK.

The Home Secretary, who is the minister in charge of law enforcement, also said enforcing the ban would not be done by police.

She said the image of police officers turning up at people’s houses over social media posts annoys the public when they don’t see officers after having their phone stolen.

Mahmood also told how she wants officers to stop policing people’s behaviours.

Discussing the ban, Mahmood said: “The government’s position is there’s going to be a genuine open consultation.

“And of course, the Australians have moved to a ban.

“I think there is a strong case for a ban, by the way, because I think, that social media environment poses huge dangers for our young people at a time when their characters, their personalities, their minds are forming.

“I think we should take a second look at the sort of environment that we let our children grow up in.”

Mahmood refuses to rule out implementation of all-women shortlist to block Burnham standing as MP

Good morning and welcome to our politics live blog. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is speaking currently speaking to Sky News’ Trevor Phillips.Mahmood, who is also chair of the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), has not ruled out Andy Burnham being blocked from standing in the Denton and Gorton by-election.When asked about the potential of Burnham being blocked from standing if the NEC decides to implement an all-women shortlist for the seat, the Home Secretary said: “The party sometimes has [an] all-women shortlist.

“Of course, you can’t by law have an all ethnic minority shortlist… But that’s not the decision for today.

“Later on today, we will be deciding one question – which is Andy, as a metro mayor at the moment, has sought permission to stand in the by-election.

“Under our Labour Party rules, anybody who is a mayor or a police and crime commissioner, if they want to run for a different political office, such as member of parliament, they do have to seek permission from the national executive.”

When pushed further on if Burnham could be blocked, Mahmood said there will “no doubt be a discussion” about an all-women shortlist, but restates it will not be decided today.

The Home Secretary also praised Burham, saying he’s “a fantastic politician”, adding that Labour “have all of our best players making their contribution to the Labour government”.

Mahmood stressed Burnham should be taken “at his words” that he backs SIr Keir Starmer.

She added everyone could do “with less psychodrama” and appeals to colleagues to avoid speculating on the Labour leadership.

Burnham awaits Labour verdict on bid to become an MP

Good morning and welcome to our live blog.

Labour’s ruling body is set to decide whether Andy Burnham can stand as a by-election candidate as the Greater Manchester mayor plots a return to Westminster.

The party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) is expected to meet virtually on Sunday after Mr Burnham applied for permission to contest the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election.

Announcing his decision on Saturday, Mr Burnham said the by-election was “the front line” of a fight against “a brand of politics which seeks to pit people against each other”.

He said: “I owe it to a city which has given me so much to lead it from the front, despite the risks involved.”

Labour Party rules give the NEC a veto over regional mayors contesting parliamentary elections under a change introduced after the last election, designed to prevent costly mayoral by-elections.

The committee now faces a dilemma over whether to exercise that power, with sources worried it will anger some party members whether it allows Mr Burnham to stand or not.

Sources close to the NEC have expressed concern about the expense of fighting a mayoral by-election in Manchester, while reports suggest supporters of Sir Keir Starmer are concerned about Mr Burnham’s leadership ambitions.

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