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

Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham could have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she urged her party to leverage the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Greens

Overturning a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, became the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had elected Labour MPs for nearly a century.

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

Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision

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

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

Powell was the only member of Labour's top decision-making body to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Collective Decision

However, she stated she understood "the group's decision" for the ruling, citing concern about necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party must learn 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 delivering those core principles and party pledges."

"We have to utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could do that better nationally," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering another attempt 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."

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 "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 set to warn against the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces new laws on tougher immigration measures next week.

An insider was reported stating, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."