The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Won Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Deputy Leader
The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the recent Manchester byelection, as she urged her party to make more use of the popular Greater Manchester mayor.
An Unexpected Result for the Greens
Overcoming a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, was elected as the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.
The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin placed second, narrowly beating 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 standing in the seat last month.
In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "Andy Burnham 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 ruling national executive committee to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.
Collective Decision
However, she told the BBC she accepted "collective responsibility" for the ruling, pointing to worries over triggering a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.
Powell also emphasized that her party needed to learn from the sources of Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is fighting for them, someone who is delivering those Labour values and party pledges."
"It is essential we utilise that insight, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could do that better across the country," she added.
What Comes Next
Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at returning to parliament. One ally said, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."
To date, 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 stark warning" for the party.
In contrast, the Home Secretary is expected 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.
A source close to the Home Secretary 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 simply incorrect."
