Andy Burnham Would 'Probably' Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Deputy Leader

Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham would have won the recent Manchester byelection, as she called for her party to leverage the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Green Party

Overcoming a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, became the party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for nearly a century.

Reform UK's Matt Goodwin finished second, just ahead of the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.

Renewed Scrutiny Over Blocked Candidacy

The unexpected outcome has prompted fresh debate of the party's controversial decision to prevent 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 gone after the seat in the same way 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 told the BBC she understood "collective responsibility" for the ruling, pointing to worries over triggering a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party must learn from the sources of Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is fighting for them, someone who is delivering those core principles and party pledges."

"It is essential we utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could do that better nationally," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering 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."

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, described the byelection result "a wake-up call" 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 new laws on tougher immigration measures next week.

A source close to the Home Secretary was quoted as saying, "The party should not learn the wrong lessons from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."