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

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the Gorton and Denton byelection, while she called for her party to leverage the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Greens

Overcoming a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, was elected as the party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had elected Labour MPs for nearly a century.

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

Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision

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

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

Powell was the sole member of Labour's ruling national executive committee 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 ruling, citing concern about necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party must draw inspiration from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is on their side, someone who is implementing those Labour values and party pledges."

"It is essential we utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could do that better nationally," she continued.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt 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 not publicly spoken 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 wake-up call" for the party.

In contrast, the Home Secretary is expected to caution about the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces legislation for tougher immigration measures next week.

A source close to the Home Secretary was quoted as saying, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is just plain wrong."