Andy Burnham Was 'Likely' to Have Won Gorton and Denton Byelection, Says Labour Number Two

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the recent Manchester byelection, while she urged her party to leverage the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Green Party

Overturning a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, became the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for nearly a century.

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

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The unexpected outcome has prompted renewed questioning 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 definitely the Greens wouldn't have targeted the seat in the manner that they did."

Powell was the sole member of Labour's top decision-making body to support allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Accepting Responsibility

However, she stated she accepted "the group's decision" for the outcome, pointing to worries over triggering a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party needed to learn from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is fighting for them, someone who is implementing those Labour values 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 do that better nationally," she continued.

What Comes Next

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 not publicly spoken on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite labelling the poll result "disappointing."

Party Response

Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, described the byelection result "a stark warning" for the party.

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is expected to caution about the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces legislation for stricter border controls next week.

A source close to the Home Secretary was reported stating, "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 just plain wrong."