The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Won Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Deputy Leader

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

An Unexpected Result for the Green Party

Overcoming a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, became the Green 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 sparked renewed questioning of the party's choice to prevent Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month.

Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "He probably would have held the seat. I think certainly the Greens wouldn't have gone after the seat in the manner that they did."

Powell was the sole member of Labour's top decision-making body to support allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Collective Decision

However, she stated she accepted "collective responsibility" for the ruling, citing concern about triggering a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party needed to learn from the sources of Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is on their side, someone who is delivering those Labour values and party pledges."

"We have to draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could replicate that success nationally," she added.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering another attempt 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."

So far, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite labelling the poll result "disheartening."

Party Response

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

Meanwhile, 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 tougher immigration measures next week.

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