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

Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham could have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, while she urged her party to leverage the influential 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 local plumber, was elected as the party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

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

Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision

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

In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "He probably would 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 only member of Labour's top decision-making body to support allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

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 emphasized that her party needed to learn from the sources of Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is on their side, someone who is implementing those core principles and party pledges."

"It is essential we draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could do that better across the country," she continued.

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 unwise to say he would never."

To date, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite calling the poll result "disappointing."

Party Response

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 set to warn against the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces new laws on stricter border controls next week.

An insider was quoted as saying, "The party should not misinterpret the message from its electoral setback. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is just plain wrong."