The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Deputy Leader
The party's second-in-command has suggested that Andy Burnham would have triumphed in the Gorton and Denton byelection, while she urged her party to leverage the popular Greater Manchester mayor.
A Surprise Victory 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 consistently returned Labour MPs for nearly a century.
Reform UK's Matt Goodwin placed second, just ahead of the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.
Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision
The surprise result has sparked fresh debate of the party's controversial decision to block Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month.
In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "Andy Burnham 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 support allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.
Collective Decision
However, she told the BBC she accepted "the group's decision" for the ruling, pointing to worries over necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.
Powell also emphasized that her party needed to draw inspiration from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is on their side, someone who is implementing those Labour values and party pledges."
"We have to utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and reflect on how we could replicate that success nationally," she added.
Future Speculation
Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go at becoming an MP again. One ally commented, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."
So far, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite labelling the poll result "disappointing."
Party Response
Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party.
In contrast, the Home Secretary is set to caution about the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces new laws on stricter border controls next week.
An insider 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 simply incorrect."
