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

Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham would have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, while she urged her party to make more use of the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Green Party

Overcoming a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, Hannah Spencer, a local plumber, became the party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

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

Renewed Scrutiny 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, stated, "He likely could have held the seat. I think definitely the Greens wouldn't have targeted 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 stated she understood "collective responsibility" for the ruling, pointing to worries over necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party needed to draw inspiration from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is fighting for them, someone who is delivering those Labour values and party pledges."

"We have to draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could replicate that success nationally," 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, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."

To date, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite labelling the poll result "disheartening."

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 expected to caution about the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes legislation for tougher immigration measures next week.

An insider was reported stating, "The party should not misinterpret the message from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is just plain wrong."