Andy Burnham Was 'Likely' to Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Deputy Leader

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham would have triumphed in the recent Manchester byelection, while she urged her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Greens

Overturning 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 happened in an area that had elected Labour MPs for nearly a century.

The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin placed second, just ahead of the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.

Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision

The unexpected outcome has sparked renewed questioning 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 targeted the seat in the same way that they did."

Powell was the sole member of Labour's ruling national executive committee to support allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Accepting Responsibility

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

Powell also stressed that her party needed to learn from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "view him as 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 learn from it and consider how we could replicate that success nationally," she added.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out 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."

To date, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite labelling the poll result "disheartening."

Internal Reactions

Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, described the byelection result "a stark warning" for the party.

In contrast, the Home Secretary is expected to warn against the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes new laws on tougher immigration measures next week.

A source close to the Home Secretary was reported stating, "The Labour government should not misinterpret the message from its electoral setback. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is just plain wrong."