The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Number Two

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham could have won the recent Manchester byelection, while she urged her party to make more use of the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Green Party

Overturning a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, a local Green councillor, a community tradesperson, became the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

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

Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision

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

In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "He likely could have held the seat. I think definitely the Greens wouldn't have targeted the seat in the same way 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 eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Collective Decision

However, she told the BBC she understood "collective responsibility" for the outcome, pointing to worries over necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party must 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 implementing those Labour values and Labour policies."

"We have to utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could do that better nationally," she continued.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go at returning to parliament. One ally 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 byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite labelling the poll result "disappointing."

Internal Reactions

Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, called 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 the government proposes 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."