Andy Burnham Would 'Probably' Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, Says Labour Deputy Leader

Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham would have won the recent Manchester byelection, while she called for her party to leverage the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Green Party

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 elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

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

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The surprise result has sparked fresh debate of the party's choice to block Andy Burnham from contesting 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 only member of Labour's ruling national executive committee to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Collective Decision

However, she told the BBC she understood "the group's decision" for the outcome, pointing to worries over necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party needed to learn from the sources of Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is on their side, someone who is delivering those core principles and Labour policies."

"It is essential we draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could do that better across the country," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go at returning to parliament. A source close to him commented, "Given the current political climate, 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 pledged to continue despite calling the poll result "disheartening."

Internal Reactions

Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, called 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 the government proposes new laws on stricter border controls next week.

An insider was quoted as saying, "The party should not misinterpret the message from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is simply incorrect."