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

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

An Unexpected Result for the Green Party

Overturning a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous 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 nearly a century.

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

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The unexpected outcome has sparked fresh debate 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, stated, "He likely could 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 sole member of Labour's top decision-making body to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Accepting Responsibility

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

Powell also stressed that her party must learn from the sources of Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is fighting for them, someone who is implementing those core principles and party pledges."

"It is essential we draw on that, leverage 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 another attempt at becoming an MP again. A source close to him said, "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 Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite calling the poll result "disappointing."

Internal Reactions

Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, described the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party.

In contrast, the Home Secretary is expected 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 recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."