The Greater Manchester Mayor Was 'Likely' to Have Secured the Recent Byelection, Says 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 make more use of the popular Greater Manchester mayor.
A Surprise Victory for the Green Party
Overcoming a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last 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 consistently returned Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.
The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin finished second, just ahead of the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.
Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision
The surprise result has sparked fresh debate of the party's controversial decision to block Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month.
Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "Andy Burnham likely could have held the seat. I think definitely the Greens wouldn't have gone after the seat in the manner that they did."
Powell was the only member of Labour's ruling national executive committee 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 necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.
Powell also emphasized that her party needed to 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 Labour policies."
"We have to utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could replicate that success across the country," she added.
Future Speculation
Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at returning to parliament. One ally said, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."
So far, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite calling the poll result "disheartening."
Internal Reactions
Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, described the byelection result "a stark warning" 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 stricter border controls next week.
A source close to the Home Secretary was quoted as saying, "The party should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is simply incorrect."
