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

Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham could have won the recent Manchester byelection, while she called for her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Greens

Overturning a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, became the party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

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

Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision

The surprise result has sparked fresh debate of the party's controversial decision to prevent Andy Burnham from contesting 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 certainly 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 support allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Accepting Responsibility

However, she told the BBC she accepted "the group's decision" for the ruling, citing concern about necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party needed to learn from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity 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 nationally," she continued.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at returning to parliament. A source close to him 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 not publicly spoken on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite calling the poll result "disheartening."

Party Response

Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, described the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party.

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is set to warn against the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces new laws on tougher immigration measures next week.

A source close to the Home Secretary was quoted as saying, "The party should not misinterpret the message from its electoral setback. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is simply incorrect."