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

Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham would have triumphed in the recent Manchester byelection, while she urged her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Greens

Overcoming a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, was elected as the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had consistently returned 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 Candidate Decision

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

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

Powell was the only 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 told the BBC she accepted "collective responsibility" for the ruling, pointing to worries over necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party needed to learn 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 delivering those Labour values and Labour policies."

"It is essential we draw on that, 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 becoming an MP again. A source close to him commented, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never."

So far, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite calling the poll result "disheartening."

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 set to warn against the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces legislation for stricter border controls next week.

A source close to the Home Secretary was quoted as saying, "The Labour government should not misinterpret the message from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is just plain wrong."