The Greater Manchester Mayor Was 'Likely' to Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Number Two

The party's second-in-command has suggested that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the recent Manchester byelection, while she called for her party to leverage the popular 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, became 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 finished second, just ahead of the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.

Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision

The surprise result has sparked renewed questioning of the party's controversial decision to prevent Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.

Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "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 sole member of Labour's ruling national executive committee to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Collective Decision

However, she stated she accepted "the group's decision" for the outcome, citing concern about necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized 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 party pledges."

"It is essential we draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could do that better across the country," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out 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 pledged to continue despite calling the poll result "disappointing."

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 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 reported stating, "The party should not misinterpret the message from its electoral setback. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."