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

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

An Unexpected Result for the Greens

Overcoming a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, a local Green councillor, 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 nearly a century.

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

Renewed Scrutiny 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.

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.

Collective Decision

However, she stated she accepted "the group's decision" for the ruling, pointing to worries over triggering a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party must learn 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 core principles and Labour policies."

"It is essential we draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could replicate that success across the country," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering another attempt at becoming an MP again. One ally said, "Given the current political climate, 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 labelling 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 set to warn against the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces new laws on 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 alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."