The Greater Manchester Mayor Was 'Likely' to Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, Says Labour Number Two

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she urged her party to make more use of the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Greens

Overturning a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, was elected as the party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had elected Labour MPs for nearly a century.

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

Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision

The unexpected outcome has prompted renewed questioning of the party's controversial decision to prevent Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.

Speaking to 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 manner that they did."

Powell was the only member of Labour's ruling national executive committee to support allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Collective Decision

However, she stated she accepted "collective responsibility" for the ruling, citing concern about necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party needed to learn from the reasons for Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is on their side, someone who is implementing those core principles and party pledges."

"It is essential we utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could do that better nationally," she continued.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go at becoming an MP again. One ally commented, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish 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."

Internal Reactions

Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party.

In contrast, the Home Secretary is set to warn against the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes new laws on stricter border controls next week.

An insider was reported stating, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is just plain wrong."