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

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham would have won the recent Manchester byelection, as she urged her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Greens

Overcoming a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, became 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 Candidate Decision

The surprise result has sparked fresh debate of the party's controversial decision to block Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.

In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "Andy Burnham 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 understood "collective responsibility" for the ruling, citing concern about triggering a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party must learn from the sources of Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is fighting for them, someone who is implementing those core principles and party pledges."

"We have to utilise that insight, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could replicate that success nationally," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at becoming an MP again. One ally commented, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."

So far, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite labelling the poll result "disheartening."

Party Response

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

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is set to warn against the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces legislation for stricter border controls next week.

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