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

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham would have triumphed in the Gorton and Denton byelection, while she urged her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Green Party

Overcoming a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, a local Green councillor, a community tradesperson, was elected as the 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.

Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision

The surprise result has prompted renewed questioning of the party's controversial decision to prevent Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month.

In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "Andy Burnham 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 support allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Accepting Responsibility

However, she stated she accepted "the group's decision" for the ruling, pointing to worries over necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party must learn from the reasons for 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."

"It is essential we draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and reflect on how we could replicate that success nationally," she added.

Future Speculation

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

To date, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite labelling the poll result "disappointing."

Party Response

Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, described the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party.

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

A source close to the Home Secretary 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 just plain wrong."