The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Won Gorton and Denton Byelection, Says Labour Number Two
Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham would have won the recent Manchester byelection, as she urged 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 previous 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, narrowly beating the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.
Renewed Scrutiny Over Blocked Candidacy
The surprise result 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 likely could have held the seat. I think certainly the Greens wouldn't have targeted the seat in the same way that they did."
Powell was the sole member of Labour's top decision-making body 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 "the group's decision" for the ruling, citing concern about necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.
Powell also emphasized that her party needed to learn from the sources of Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is fighting for them, someone who is implementing those core principles and Labour policies."
"We have to draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and reflect on how we could do that better nationally," she added.
What Comes Next
Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go at returning to parliament. One ally commented, "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 Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite calling the poll result "disappointing."
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 tougher immigration measures next week.
An insider was quoted as saying, "The Labour government should not misinterpret the message from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."
