Andy Burnham Was 'Likely' to Have Won the Recent Byelection, States Labour Deputy Leader

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the Gorton and Denton byelection, while she called for her party to make more use of 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, was elected as the Green 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 finished second, narrowly beating the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The surprise result has sparked fresh debate 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 definitely 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, opposing the move.

Accepting Responsibility

However, she told the BBC she accepted "collective responsibility" for the outcome, pointing to worries over necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party needed to draw inspiration from the reasons for Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is fighting for them, someone who is delivering those Labour values 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 added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at returning to parliament. 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."

So far, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite labelling the poll result "disappointing."

Internal Reactions

Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a stark warning" for the party.

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is set to caution about the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes new laws on tougher immigration measures next week.

A source close to the Home Secretary was reported stating, "The Labour government should not misinterpret the message from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is just plain wrong."