Andy Burnham Would 'Probably' Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Number Two

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

An Unexpected Result for the Green Party

Overturning a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last 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 elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

Reform UK's Matt Goodwin finished second, narrowly beating the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The unexpected outcome 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, stated, "Andy Burnham likely could have held the seat. I think definitely the Greens wouldn't have targeted the seat in the manner that they did."

Powell was the only member of Labour's ruling national executive committee 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 outcome, pointing to worries over necessitating a mayoral byelection 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 implementing those core principles and party pledges."

"We have to utilise that insight, make use of Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and reflect on how we could replicate that success across the country," she continued.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at becoming an MP again. A source close to him commented, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."

To date, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite labelling the poll result "disappointing."

Party Response

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

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is expected to warn against the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces new laws on tougher immigration measures next week.

An insider was reported stating, "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."