The Greater Manchester Mayor Was 'Likely' to Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Deputy Leader
The party's second-in-command has suggested that Andy Burnham could have won the recent Manchester byelection, as she called for her party to make more use of the popular Greater Manchester mayor.
An Unexpected Result for the Greens
Overturning a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, was elected as the party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened 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 fresh debate of the party's controversial decision to block Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month.
In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "He probably would have held the seat. I think certainly the Greens wouldn't have targeted the seat in the manner 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 stated she accepted "collective responsibility" for the ruling, pointing to worries over necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.
Powell also stressed that her party must learn from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is fighting for them, someone who is delivering those core principles and Labour policies."
"We have to draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and reflect on how we could replicate that success nationally," she added.
What Comes Next
Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go at becoming an MP again. One ally 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 "disappointing."
Internal Reactions
Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, described the byelection result "a wake-up call" 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 the government proposes new laws on stricter border controls next week.
An insider was quoted as saying, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is simply incorrect."
