Andy Burnham Was 'Likely' to Have Secured the Recent Byelection, States Labour Number Two

Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham could have won the recent Manchester byelection, as she urged her party to make more use of the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Green Party

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

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

Renewed Scrutiny Over Blocked Candidacy

The unexpected outcome 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 certainly the Greens wouldn't have targeted the seat in the manner that they did."

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

Accepting Responsibility

However, she stated she understood "collective responsibility" for the outcome, citing concern about triggering a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party must 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 core principles and party pledges."

"We have to utilise that insight, make use of Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could replicate that success across the country," she continued.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go at returning to parliament. A source close to him said, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise 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."

Party Response

Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, described the byelection result "a stark warning" 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 the government proposes legislation for stricter border controls next week.

A source close to the Home Secretary 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 simply incorrect."