Andy Burnham Would 'Probably' Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Deputy Leader

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the Gorton and Denton byelection, while she urged her party to make more use of the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Green Party

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 nearly a century.

The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin placed second, narrowly beating the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The surprise result has prompted fresh debate 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, stated, "He likely could have held the seat. I think certainly the Greens wouldn't have targeted the seat in the same way 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, voting against.

Collective Decision

However, she told the BBC she accepted "collective responsibility" for the outcome, citing concern about triggering a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party must draw inspiration from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is on their side, someone who is implementing those Labour values and party pledges."

"It is essential we draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could do that better nationally," she added.

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."

So far, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite labelling the poll result "disheartening."

Internal Reactions

Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party.

In contrast, the Home Secretary is set to caution about the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces new laws on stricter border controls next week.

An insider was reported stating, "The Labour government should not misinterpret the message from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."