Andy Burnham Was 'Likely' to Have Secured the Recent Byelection, Says Labour Number Two

Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham would have triumphed in the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she called for her party to make more use of the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Green Party

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 occurred in an area that had elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

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

Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision

The unexpected outcome has sparked fresh debate of the party's choice to prevent Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.

Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "Andy Burnham probably would have held the seat. I think definitely the Greens wouldn't have targeted the seat in the same way that they did."

Powell was the sole member of Labour's top decision-making body to support allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Accepting Responsibility

However, she stated she understood "the group's decision" for the outcome, citing concern about necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party needed to learn from the sources of Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is fighting for them, someone who is implementing those Labour values and party pledges."

"It is essential we draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and reflect on how we could replicate that success nationally," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering another attempt at becoming an MP again. One ally said, "Given the current political climate, 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 vowed to fight on despite labelling the poll result "disheartening."

Internal Reactions

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 expected to caution about the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces new laws on tougher immigration measures next week.

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