Andy Burnham Was 'Likely' to Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Number Two

Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the Gorton and Denton byelection, while she urged her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Greens

Overturning a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, became the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for nearly a century.

Reform UK's Matt Goodwin finished second, narrowly beating the Labour candidate, 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.

In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "Andy Burnham likely could have held the seat. I think definitely the Greens wouldn't have gone after 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, voting against.

Collective Decision

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

Powell also stressed that her party must learn from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity 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, make use of Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and reflect on how we could do that better across the country," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at returning to parliament. A source close to him 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 not publicly spoken on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite calling the poll result "disappointing."

Internal Reactions

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 warn against the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces legislation for stricter border controls next week.

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