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

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the recent Manchester byelection, as she called for her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Green Party

Overcoming 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 consistently returned Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

Reform UK's Matt Goodwin finished second, narrowly beating the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.

Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision

The unexpected outcome has sparked renewed questioning of the party's controversial decision to block Andy Burnham from contesting 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 manner 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 the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Collective Decision

However, she stated she accepted "collective responsibility" for the ruling, citing concern about triggering a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party needed to learn from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is fighting for them, someone who is delivering those core principles and Labour policies."

"It is essential we draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could replicate that success across the country," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at becoming an MP again. A source close to him 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 yet to comment on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite calling the poll result "disheartening."

Internal Reactions

Angela Rayner, a prominent voice 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 the government proposes legislation for tougher immigration measures next week.

An insider was reported stating, "The party should not misinterpret the message from its electoral setback. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."