Andy Burnham Would 'Probably' Have Secured the Recent Byelection, States Labour Number Two

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

An Unexpected Result for the Greens

Overcoming 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 happened in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for nearly a century.

The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin finished second, narrowly beating the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.

Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision

The surprise result has sparked renewed questioning of the party's choice to prevent Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month.

In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "He probably would have held the seat. I think definitely the Greens wouldn't have targeted the seat in the manner that they did."

Powell was the only member of Labour's ruling national executive committee to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Accepting Responsibility

However, she stated she understood "collective responsibility" 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 sources of Burnham's strong support 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."

"We have to draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could replicate that success across the country," she continued.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering another attempt at becoming an MP again. A source close to him said, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never."

To date, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite labelling the poll result "disappointing."

Internal Reactions

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

In contrast, the Home Secretary is expected to caution about the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces legislation for tougher immigration measures next week.

A source close to the Home Secretary was reported stating, "The party should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."