The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, Says Labour Deputy Leader

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

An Unexpected Result for the Greens

Overturning a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, a local Green councillor, a community tradesperson, was elected as the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin finished second, just ahead of the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.

Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision

The unexpected outcome has sparked fresh debate of the party's choice to prevent Andy Burnham from contesting 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 gone after the seat in the manner that they did."

Powell was the only member of Labour's ruling national executive committee 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 separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party needed to learn 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 Labour policies."

"It is essential we draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and reflect on how we could replicate that success nationally," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at becoming an MP again. One ally commented, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."

To date, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite labelling the poll result "disappointing."

Internal Reactions

Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a stark warning" for the party.

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is expected to caution about the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces legislation for stricter border controls next week.

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