The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Number Two

Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham could have won the recent Manchester byelection, while she urged her party to leverage the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Greens

Overturning a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, became the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for nearly a century.

The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin placed second, narrowly beating the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.

Renewed Scrutiny Over Blocked Candidacy

The unexpected outcome has sparked renewed questioning of the party's choice to prevent Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month.

Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "He likely could have held the seat. I think certainly the Greens wouldn't have gone after the seat in the same way that they did."

Powell was the sole member of Labour's top decision-making body to support allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Collective Decision

However, she stated she accepted "collective responsibility" for the outcome, citing concern about necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party must draw inspiration from the sources of Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is fighting for them, someone who is implementing those core principles and party pledges."

"It is essential we utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could replicate that success nationally," she added.

Future Speculation

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

So far, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite calling the poll result "disheartening."

Party Response

Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party.

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is expected to warn against the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes new laws on stricter border controls next week.

A source close to the Home Secretary was reported stating, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is simply incorrect."