The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Won the Recent Byelection, Says Labour Number Two

Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the recent Manchester byelection, while she called for her party to leverage 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, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, was elected as the party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin finished second, narrowly beating the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.

Renewed Scrutiny Over Blocked Candidacy

The unexpected outcome has sparked fresh debate of the party's choice to prevent Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.

Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "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 vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Collective Decision

However, she told the BBC she accepted "the group's decision" for the outcome, citing concern about necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized 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 implementing those Labour values and Labour policies."

"We have to utilise that insight, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could do that better across the country," she added.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at becoming an MP again. One ally commented, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."

To date, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite calling the poll result "disheartening."

Internal Reactions

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

In contrast, the Home Secretary is expected to caution about the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces new laws on stricter border controls next week.

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