Andy Burnham 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, while she called for her party to make more use of the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Greens

Overturning a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, was elected as the party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

Reform UK's Matt Goodwin placed second, narrowly beating the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The unexpected outcome has sparked renewed questioning of the party's choice to block Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month.

Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "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 ruling national executive committee to support allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Collective Decision

However, she stated she understood "the group's decision" for the ruling, citing concern about 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 implementing those Labour values and party pledges."

"We have to utilise that insight, make use of Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could replicate that success across the country," she added.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go at returning to parliament. One ally commented, "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 Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite calling the poll result "disheartening."

Internal Reactions

Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party.

In contrast, the Home Secretary is expected to warn against the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces legislation for tougher immigration measures 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 just plain wrong."