The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Number Two

The party's second-in-command has suggested that Andy Burnham would have won the recent Manchester byelection, as she called for her party to leverage the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Green Party

Overcoming a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, became the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for nearly a century.

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

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The unexpected outcome has sparked fresh debate of the party's controversial decision to prevent 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 certainly the Greens wouldn't have targeted the seat in the manner that they did."

Powell was the sole member of Labour's top decision-making body to support allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Accepting Responsibility

However, she told the BBC she accepted "collective responsibility" for the ruling, 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 Labour policies."

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

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at becoming an MP again. A source close to him said, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."

So far, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite calling the poll result "disheartening."

Internal Reactions

Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, described 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 stricter border controls next week.

An insider was quoted as saying, "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."