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

Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she called for her party to make more use of the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Greens

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

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

Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision

The surprise result has sparked fresh debate of the party's controversial decision to block Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.

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

Powell was the only member of Labour's ruling national executive committee to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Collective Decision

However, she stated she accepted "the group's decision" for the outcome, pointing to worries over triggering a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party needed to draw inspiration from the sources of Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is on their side, 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. A source close to him said, "Given the current political climate, 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 labelling the poll result "disappointing."

Internal Reactions

Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a wake-up call" 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 new laws on stricter border controls next week.

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