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

The party's second-in-command has suggested that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she urged her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Green Party

Overturning a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, Hannah Spencer, a local plumber, became the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin finished second, just ahead of the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.

Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision

The unexpected outcome has sparked renewed questioning 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, stated, "Andy Burnham 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 the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Collective Decision

However, she told the BBC she accepted "the group's decision" for the ruling, pointing to worries over necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party needed to learn from the reasons for 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 replicate that success across the country," she continued.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at returning to parliament. One ally commented, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."

So far, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite calling the poll result "disappointing."

Party Response

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 warn against the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces new laws on stricter border controls next week.

A source close to the Home Secretary 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 just plain wrong."