The Greater Manchester Mayor Was 'Likely' to Have Secured the Recent Byelection, States Labour Deputy Leader

Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham would have won the recent Manchester byelection, as she urged her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Green Party

Overcoming a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, a local Green councillor, a community tradesperson, became the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

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

Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision

The surprise result has prompted renewed questioning of the party's controversial decision to block 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 certainly the Greens wouldn't have gone after 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 stated she understood "the group's decision" for the outcome, 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 "see in him someone who is on their side, someone who is implementing those Labour values and Labour policies."

"It is essential we draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could do that better across the country," she added.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at returning to parliament. A source close to him said, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."

To date, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite labelling the poll result "disheartening."

Internal Reactions

Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, called 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 the government proposes new laws on tougher immigration measures next week.

A source close to the Home Secretary was quoted as saying, "The party should not learn the wrong lessons from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."