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

Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham could have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, while she urged her party to make more use of the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Greens

Overturning a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, was elected as the 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 official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.

Renewed Scrutiny Over Blocked Candidacy

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

In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "He likely could have held the seat. I think definitely 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.

Accepting Responsibility

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

Powell also stressed 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 Labour policies."

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

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering another attempt 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."

To date, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the byelection result. 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 stark warning" 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 she introduces 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 alienating support over immigration is simply incorrect."