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

The party's second-in-command has suggested that Andy Burnham would have won the recent Manchester byelection, while she urged her party to make more use of the influential 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, was elected as the party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

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

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The surprise result has prompted 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, "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 support allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Collective Decision

However, she stated 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 draw inspiration 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 party pledges."

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

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go at becoming an MP again. One ally commented, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never."

To date, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite labelling the poll result "disheartening."

Party Response

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

In contrast, the Home Secretary is set to caution about the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes legislation for stricter border controls next week.

An insider was quoted as saying, "The party should not misinterpret the message from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is simply incorrect."