Andy Burnham Would 'Probably' Have Won Gorton and Denton Byelection, Says Labour Deputy Leader

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham would have triumphed in the Gorton and Denton byelection, while she called for her party to make more use of the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Greens

Overcoming a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, was elected as the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had elected Labour MPs for nearly a century.

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 prevent Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month.

In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "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 ruling national executive committee 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 mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party needed to draw inspiration 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 core principles and party pledges."

"We have to draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could replicate that success nationally," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at becoming an MP again. A source close to him commented, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never."

To date, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the byelection result. 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, called the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party.

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is set to warn against the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes legislation for stricter border controls next week.

An insider was reported stating, "The party should not misinterpret the message from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."