The Greater Manchester Mayor Was 'Likely' to Have Secured the Recent Byelection, States Labour Deputy Leader

Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham could have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, while she urged her party to make more use of the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Green Party

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

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

Fresh Questions 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 only member of Labour's ruling national executive committee to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Accepting Responsibility

However, she stated she accepted "collective responsibility" for the ruling, citing concern about triggering a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party must draw inspiration from the sources of 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 Labour policies."

"We have to draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and reflect on how we could replicate that success nationally," she continued.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at becoming an MP again. 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 yet to comment on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite labelling the poll result "disheartening."

Party Response

Angela Rayner, a key figure 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 the government proposes new laws on tougher immigration measures next week.

An insider was quoted as saying, "The party should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is just plain wrong."