Labour Block Andy Burnham From Standing

Today, Andy Burnham has said he is "disappointed" after being blocked from standing as a candidate for the upcoming parliamentary by-election in Gorton and Denton by Labour's ruling body.

As a directly elected mayor, Burnham had to get approval from Labour's national executive committee (NEC), after he applied to be a candidate on Saturday.

But Labour said the party had decided to deny him permission to stand to "avoid an unnecessary mayoral election, which would use substantial amounts of taxpayers' money and resources".

Adam and Chris are here to discuss what it means and what might happen next. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.

You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord

Get in touch with Newscast by emailing [email protected] or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.

New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd

The presenters were Adam Fleming and Chris. It was made by Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.