Andy Burnham Would 'Probably' Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, Says Labour Number Two

Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham would have won the recent Manchester byelection, as she called for 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 local plumber, was elected as the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had elected Labour MPs for nearly a century.

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

Renewed Scrutiny Over Blocked Candidacy

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

Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "He likely could have held the seat. I think definitely the Greens wouldn't have gone after the seat in the same way that they did."

Powell was the only member of Labour's top decision-making body to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Accepting Responsibility

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

Powell also stressed that her party needed to learn from the sources of Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is on their side, someone who is delivering those core principles and party pledges."

"We have to draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could replicate that success across the country," she continued.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at returning to parliament. A source close to him commented, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."

To date, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite calling the poll result "disappointing."

Internal Reactions

Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party.

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is set to warn against the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces legislation for tougher immigration measures next week.

An insider was quoted as saying, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is simply incorrect."