Andy Burnham Would 'Probably' Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, Says Labour Number Two
The party's second-in-command has suggested 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 Greens
Overcoming a substantial 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 almost one hundred years.
The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin finished second, just ahead of the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.
Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision
The surprise result has sparked fresh debate of the party's choice to block Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month.
In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "He probably would 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 support allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.
Collective Decision
However, she told the BBC she understood "collective responsibility" for the outcome, citing concern about necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.
Powell also stressed that her party must learn from the sources of Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is on their side, someone who is delivering those Labour values and party pledges."
"We have to utilise that insight, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it 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 another attempt at returning to parliament. One ally said, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never."
So far, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite calling the poll result "disheartening."
Party Response
Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, described the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party.
Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is expected to warn against the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces new laws on tougher immigration measures 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 simply incorrect."
