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David Lammy has warned Andy Burnham and others against “rocking the boat” by taking action to challenge Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership of the Labor Party.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester faces a 5pm deadline on Saturday to join the race to become Labour's candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
As a directly elected mayor, he must seek explicit permission from the Labor governing body to stand, as vacating his current post would also trigger an election.
The deputy prime minister called Mr Bunham “a dear friend” and said he would not give him advice. Speculation suggests a comeback by the House of Commons could pave the way for a leadership challenge. However, he warned that parties that “spread their dirty laundry in public… usually represent a major turn-off to voters.”
He said any leadership change would “likely” mean Labor, currently trailing Nigel Farage's Reform UK in the polls, would be forced to call a snap election.
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Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham could seek to return to Westminster as an MP (PA)
His comments come amid threats from Labor backbenchers that Sir Keir “will face a severe backlash” that “could hasten his departure” if he tries to stop Mr Burnham from standing in the upcoming by-election in his political backyard.
Mr Burnham, who has not yet commented, could become an MP, a requirement for the post of prime minister, after a Greater Manchester MP announced he would resign from the House of Commons on Thursday.
Andrew Gwynne said he would stand down as MP for Gorton and Denton, citing “significant health issues”.
However, for Mr Burnham to become a candidate he must be approved by Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC), which is widely believed to be under the control of Sir Keir's supporters.
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David Lammy has urged potential leadership rivals not to “rock the boat” (PA)
Asked about Mr Burnham's possible return to Westminster, Mr Lammy said: “What I would say, and I feel it very strongly, is that we are all in the business of Labor politics and we all have to make sure that we serve working people. And parties that air their dirty laundry in public, that argue and complain and moan, are usually a huge turn off to the electorate…”
“Please let's not rock the boat and screw up what Labor governments have done throughout their history. That's why Labor was only in power for 22 years in the 20th century. Let's not make that mistake.”
He added: “I don't know if Andy really wants to get back into Westminster politics. He could do it, and he has a lot of merit. But I would warn those who are often around and start to destabilize the ship and say we can have a new leader. No, we can't. Because immediately you would be forced to hold an election, probably premature…”
Labor MPs and union leaders have warned against using the party's ruling national executive committee to stop Mr Burnham from standing.
Jo White, leader of the Red Wall group of Labor MPs, said: “Let the north decide who their Labor candidate should be for the Gorton and Denton by-election. A clash in London would be a disaster for Labour.”
And Crewe and Nantwich MP Connor Naismith said: “Gorton and Denton deserve the best possible selection of candidates. I agree with the Prime Minister that our attention should be on delivering something for the public, not on speculation about future leadership contests. Any decision to limit the selection would be wrong.”
Unison's Andrea Egan said: “We have seen enough control freaks in the Labor Party and it has only damaged our movement”, while Steve Wright from the Fire Brigades Union said it would be “a democratic scandal if Andy Burnham was prevented from making a selection”.
On Friday, Health Minister Stephen Kinnock stressed that the process was the same as any other candidate selection.
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