Andy Burnham 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 urged her party to leverage the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Greens

Overturning a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, was elected as the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin placed second, narrowly beating the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.

Renewed Scrutiny Over Blocked Candidacy

The unexpected outcome has sparked fresh debate 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 same way 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.

Collective Decision

However, she told the BBC she accepted "collective responsibility" for the ruling, 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 strong support in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is on their side, someone who is delivering those core principles and party pledges."

"It is essential we utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could replicate that success across the country," she continued.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering another attempt at returning to parliament. One ally said, "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 pledged to continue despite labelling the poll result "disheartening."

Party Response

Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party.

In contrast, the Home Secretary is set to caution about the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces legislation for tougher immigration measures next week.

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