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

Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the Gorton and Denton byelection, while 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, 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.

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

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The unexpected outcome has prompted fresh debate of the party's choice to prevent Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.

Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "He 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 top decision-making body to support allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Accepting Responsibility

However, she told the BBC she accepted "the group's decision" for the outcome, citing concern about necessitating 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 delivering those Labour values and Labour policies."

"It is essential we draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could do that better nationally," she continued.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at becoming an MP again. One ally said, "With all the chaos and turmoil, 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 "disappointing."

Party Response

Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party.

In contrast, the Home Secretary is expected to caution about the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces legislation for stricter border controls next week.

An insider 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."