Andy Burnham Would 'Probably' Have Won the Recent Byelection, Says Labour Deputy Leader

Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham would have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, while she urged her party to leverage the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Green Party

Overturning a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, was elected as the Green 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, just ahead of the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.

Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision

The surprise result has sparked fresh debate of the party's controversial decision to block Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month.

Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "He probably would have held the seat. I think certainly the Greens wouldn't have targeted the seat in the manner 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.

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 must learn from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is fighting for them, someone who is implementing those Labour values and party pledges."

"It is essential we draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could do that better across the country," she continued.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out 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 unwise to say he would never."

So far, 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 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 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 quoted as saying, "The Labour government should not misinterpret the message from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."