Andy Burnham Was 'Likely' to Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, Says Labour Number Two

Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she urged her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Green Party

Overturning a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, Hannah Spencer, a local plumber, became the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had elected Labour MPs for nearly a century.

The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin placed second, just ahead of the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.

Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision

The surprise result has sparked renewed questioning 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 probably would have held the seat. I think definitely the Greens wouldn't have targeted the seat in the same way that they did."

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

Collective Decision

However, she told the BBC she understood "collective responsibility" for the outcome, citing concern about triggering a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party needed to draw inspiration 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 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 replicate that success nationally," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go at becoming an MP again. A source close to him said, "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 Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite calling the poll result "disheartening."

Internal Reactions

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

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is expected to caution about the party shifting leftward 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 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."