The Greater Manchester Mayor Was 'Likely' to Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Number Two

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham would have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, while she urged her party to make more use of the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Green Party

Overturning a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, was elected as the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

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

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The unexpected outcome has prompted fresh debate of the party's controversial decision to block Andy Burnham from standing in 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 eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Accepting Responsibility

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

Powell also emphasized that her party must draw inspiration from the reasons for Burnham's strong support 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, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on 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 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.

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is expected to caution about the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces new laws on stricter border controls next week.

An insider was reported stating, "The party should not learn the wrong lessons from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is simply incorrect."