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

Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham would have triumphed in the Gorton and Denton byelection, while she called for her party to leverage the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Green Party

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

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

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

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

Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "Andy Burnham probably would have held the seat. I think certainly the Greens wouldn't have gone after the seat in the same way 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, opposing the move.

Collective Decision

However, she told the BBC she accepted "the group's decision" for the ruling, citing concern about necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party needed to draw inspiration from the sources of Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is on their side, someone who is delivering those core principles and Labour policies."

"It is essential we utilise that insight, make use of Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could do that better across the country," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at returning to parliament. 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."

To date, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite calling the poll result "disheartening."

Internal Reactions

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 expected to caution about the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes new laws on tougher immigration measures next week.

A source close to the Home Secretary was quoted as saying, "The party should not learn the wrong lessons from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."