The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Won the Recent Byelection, Says Labour Number Two

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the recent Manchester byelection, as she called for her party to make more use of the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Greens

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

Reform UK's Matt Goodwin placed second, just ahead of the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.

Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision

The surprise result has prompted renewed questioning of the party's controversial decision to prevent Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.

In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "He likely could have held the seat. I think definitely the Greens wouldn't have gone after 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, opposing the move.

Collective Decision

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

Powell also stressed that her party must draw inspiration from the sources of Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is fighting for them, someone who is delivering those Labour values and Labour policies."

"We have to utilise that insight, make use of Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could do that better nationally," she continued.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go 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."

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.

In contrast, the Home Secretary is expected to warn against the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes legislation for tougher immigration measures next week.

An insider was quoted as saying, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."