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

Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham would have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she called for her party to make more use of the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Green Party

Overturning a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, was elected as 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 finished second, just ahead of the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The surprise result has sparked renewed questioning of the party's choice to prevent Andy Burnham from standing in 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 sole member of Labour's top decision-making body to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Accepting Responsibility

However, she stated she understood "collective responsibility" for the outcome, pointing to worries over necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party needed to learn 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 core principles and Labour policies."

"We have to utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could replicate that success across the country," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go 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 byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite labelling the poll result "disheartening."

Party Response

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

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is set to caution about the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes new laws on stricter border controls next week.

An insider was quoted as saying, "The party should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is just plain wrong."