Andy Burnham Was 'Likely' to Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Deputy Leader
The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she called for her party to leverage 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, became the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.
Reform UK's Matt Goodwin placed second, narrowly beating the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.
Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision
The surprise result has sparked renewed questioning of the party's choice to block Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month.
Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "Andy Burnham likely could have held the seat. I think certainly the Greens wouldn't have gone after the seat in the manner that they did."
Powell was the only 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.
Accepting Responsibility
However, she told the BBC she accepted "the group's decision" for the ruling, citing concern about necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.
Powell also stressed that her party must learn from the reasons for Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is on their side, someone who is implementing those core principles and Labour policies."
"It is essential we draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could do that better across the country," she continued.
Future Speculation
Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at returning to parliament. One ally said, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."
So far, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite calling 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.
Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is expected to caution about the party moving to the left 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 reported stating, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."
