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, as she called for her party to leverage the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Greens

Overcoming a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, became the party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

Reform UK's Matt Goodwin finished second, narrowly beating the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The surprise result has sparked renewed questioning of the party's choice to block Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month.

In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "Andy Burnham likely could have held the seat. I think definitely the Greens wouldn't have targeted the seat in the same way that they did."

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

Accepting Responsibility

However, she told the BBC she understood "the group's decision" for the ruling, pointing to worries over triggering a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party needed to learn from the reasons for Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is fighting for them, someone who is implementing those Labour values and party pledges."

"We have to utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and reflect on how we could do that better nationally," she added.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at returning to parliament. One ally said, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."

To date, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite calling the poll result "disheartening."

Internal Reactions

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

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is expected to warn against the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes legislation for stricter border controls next week.

A source close to the Home Secretary was reported stating, "The Labour government should not misinterpret the message from its electoral setback. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."