The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Secured the Recent Byelection, States Labour Number Two
Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham would have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she urged her party to make more use of the influential Greater Manchester mayor.
A Surprise Victory for the Greens
Overcoming a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, was elected as the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had elected Labour MPs for nearly a century.
The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin finished second, just ahead of the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.
Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision
The unexpected outcome has sparked fresh debate 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, remarked, "He likely could have held the seat. I think definitely the Greens wouldn't have gone after the seat in the same way that they did."
Powell was the sole member of Labour's ruling national executive committee to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.
Accepting Responsibility
However, she stated she accepted "collective responsibility" for the ruling, pointing to worries over necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.
Powell also stressed that her party must 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 delivering those Labour values and party pledges."
"It is essential we draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could replicate that success across the country," she continued.
Future Speculation
Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at returning to parliament. One ally said, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise 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 calling the poll result "disheartening."
Internal Reactions
Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, described the byelection result "a stark warning" 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 stricter border controls next week.
An insider was reported stating, "The Labour government should not misinterpret the message from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is simply incorrect."
