The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Won Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Number Two
The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham would have won the recent Manchester byelection, while she called for 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 last general election, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, was elected as the party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.
Reform UK's Matt Goodwin finished second, just ahead of the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.
Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision
The surprise result has sparked fresh debate 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 certainly the Greens wouldn't have targeted the seat in the same way that they did."
Powell was the only 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 understood "the group's decision" 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 implementing those core principles and party pledges."
"It is essential we draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider 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, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never."
To date, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite labelling the poll result "disappointing."
Party Response
Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party.
Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is expected to warn against the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes legislation for tougher immigration measures next week.
A source close to the Home Secretary was quoted as saying, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."
