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

Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham would have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she called for her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Greens

Overcoming a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, became the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had elected Labour MPs for nearly a century.

Reform UK's Matt Goodwin placed second, just ahead of the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.

Renewed Scrutiny Over Blocked Candidacy

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

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

Powell was the sole member of Labour's ruling national executive committee to support allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Collective Decision

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

Powell also stressed that her party must draw inspiration from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is on their side, someone who is implementing those core principles and Labour policies."

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

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering another attempt 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."

So far, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite labelling the poll result "disappointing."

Internal Reactions

Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, described the byelection result "a stark warning" for the party.

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is expected to caution about 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 reported stating, "The party should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."