The Greater Manchester Mayor Was 'Likely' to Have Won Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Number Two

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham would have won the recent Manchester byelection, as she called for her party to make more use of the influential 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 community tradesperson, became the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

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 prevent Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.

In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "He probably would 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 eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Accepting Responsibility

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

Powell also emphasized that her party needed to learn from the reasons for Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is on their side, someone who is delivering those Labour values and party pledges."

"It is essential we utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and reflect on how we could replicate that success across the country," she continued.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at becoming an MP again. One ally 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 not publicly spoken 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 the government proposes new laws on tougher immigration measures next week.

An insider was quoted as saying, "The Labour government should not misinterpret the message from its electoral setback. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."