Andy Burnham Would 'Probably' Have Secured the Recent Byelection, States Labour Number Two

Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the recent Manchester byelection, while she urged her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Greens

Overcoming a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, Hannah Spencer, a local plumber, was elected as the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened 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 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 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 only member of Labour's top decision-making body to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Collective Decision

However, she told the BBC she accepted "collective responsibility" for the ruling, pointing to worries over necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party needed to draw inspiration from the sources of Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is on their side, someone who is delivering those core principles and Labour policies."

"We have to utilise that insight, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could replicate that success nationally," she continued.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering another attempt at returning to parliament. 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 not publicly spoken on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite labelling the poll result "disappointing."

Party Response

Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, described the byelection result "a stark warning" for the party.

In contrast, the Home Secretary is expected to caution about the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes legislation for tougher immigration measures next week.

An insider was reported stating, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is just plain wrong."