Could Barnsley MP Dan Jarvis be forced to quit Mayoral race?

In the last couple of hours, the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee has brought in a new rule that MPs have to stand down from Parliament if they are selected for another elected role - including Mayor.

Mr Jarvis has never made any secret of the fact that if elected as Mayor, he would continue to be an MP.

The new rule means he would have to quit as an MP now if he wanted to continue seeking selection as Labour’s Mayoral candidate.

It appears to put Mr Jarvis in a predicament - he can continue as an MP and quit the Mayoral race or step down from Westminster in the hope of becoming Labour’s Mayoral candidate.

Mr Jarvis was unavailable for comment and his office said they would not release a statement until the NEC meeting was finished.

But it could spell disaster for Mr Jarvis, who is currently competing against Sheffield Labour councillor Ben Curran to become Labour’s candidate. Labour Party members have already been voting and the result was due to be announced this Friday.

It has always been custom for MPs to stand down if they get another role but the new rule states MPs “must agree to stand down from Parliament as a pre-condition of being endorsed as a candidate to any other elected public office.”

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham faced the same dilemma during his selection process. He announced he was voluntarily stepping down from Westminster before winning the Mayoral candidacy.

At the time, he said: I genuinely believe I will be able to do more for Leigh as Mayor of Greater Manchester than as the town’s MP