Andy Burnham Was 'Likely' to Have Won the Recent Byelection, States Labour Number Two

Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham would have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she urged her party to make more use of the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Greens

Overturning a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, a local Green councillor, a community tradesperson, became the party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had elected Labour MPs for nearly a century.

The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin finished second, just ahead of the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The surprise result has prompted fresh debate of the party's controversial decision to prevent Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.

Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "He probably would have held the seat. I think definitely 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 support allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Accepting Responsibility

However, she told the BBC she accepted "the group's decision" for the ruling, citing concern about triggering a separate election 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 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 learn from it and consider how we could do that better across the country," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go 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."

So far, 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."

Internal Reactions

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 shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces new laws on tougher immigration measures next week.

A source close to the Home Secretary was quoted as saying, "The Labour government should not misinterpret the message from its electoral setback. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is just plain wrong."