Andy Burnham Was 'Likely' to 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, as she urged her party to make more use of the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Greens

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

The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin finished second, narrowly beating 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.

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 sole member of Labour's top decision-making body to support allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Accepting Responsibility

However, she told the BBC she accepted "collective responsibility" for the outcome, pointing to worries over triggering a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party must draw inspiration from the sources of Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is fighting for them, someone who is delivering those Labour values and party pledges."

"We have to utilise that insight, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could replicate that success nationally," she continued.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at becoming an MP again. 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 Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite calling the poll result "disappointing."

Party Response

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

Meanwhile, 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.

An insider was reported stating, "The party should not learn the wrong lessons from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is just plain wrong."