The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Won the Recent Byelection, Says Labour Number Two

Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham could have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, while she called for her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Green Party

Overcoming a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, became the party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

Reform UK's Matt Goodwin placed second, narrowly beating the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The unexpected outcome has prompted fresh debate of the party's controversial decision to block Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.

In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "He likely could have held the seat. I think certainly the Greens wouldn't have gone after the seat in the manner that they did."

Powell was the sole member of Labour's top decision-making body to support allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Collective Decision

However, she stated she understood "collective responsibility" for the ruling, pointing to worries over triggering a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party must draw inspiration from the sources of Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is on their side, someone who is delivering those Labour values and party pledges."

"We have to utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could do that better across the country," she added.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go at returning to parliament. A source close to him commented, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never."

To date, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite calling the poll result "disappointing."

Party Response

Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, described the byelection result "a stark warning" for the party.

In contrast, the Home Secretary is expected to warn against the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces new laws on stricter border controls next week.

An insider was reported stating, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."