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

The party's second-in-command has suggested that Andy Burnham would have triumphed in the recent Manchester byelection, while she called for her party to leverage 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, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, was elected as the party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

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

Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision

The unexpected outcome has sparked renewed questioning of the party's controversial decision to block Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.

Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "He likely could have held the seat. I think definitely the Greens wouldn't have gone after the seat in the same way that they did."

Powell was the only member of Labour's ruling national executive committee to support allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Accepting Responsibility

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

Powell also stressed that her party must draw inspiration from the sources of Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is on their side, someone who is delivering those Labour values and party pledges."

"We have to draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could do that better nationally," she added.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go at returning to parliament. A source close to him said, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."

To date, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite calling the poll result "disappointing."

Party Response

Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a stark warning" for the party.

In contrast, the Home Secretary is expected to warn against the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces legislation for tougher immigration measures 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."