Andy Burnham Was 'Likely' to Have Won Gorton and Denton Byelection, Says Labour Number Two

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

A Surprise Victory for the Green Party

Overcoming a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, Hannah Spencer, a local plumber, became the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

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

Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision

The surprise result has prompted fresh debate of the party's choice to prevent Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.

In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "Andy Burnham probably would 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 only member of Labour's ruling national executive committee to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Collective Decision

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

Powell also stressed that her party needed to learn from the sources of Burnham's strong support 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 draw on that and consider how we could replicate that success nationally," she continued.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering another attempt at becoming an MP again. A source close to him commented, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never."

To date, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite labelling the poll result "disappointing."

Party Response

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 she introduces new laws on tougher immigration measures next week.

An insider was reported stating, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."