The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Won Gorton and Denton Byelection, Says Labour Deputy Leader

Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham could have won the recent Manchester byelection, as she called for her party to make more use of the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Green Party

Overcoming a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, became the party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had elected Labour MPs for nearly a century.

The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin placed second, just ahead of the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.

Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision

The unexpected outcome has sparked renewed questioning of the party's choice to prevent Andy Burnham from contesting 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 certainly the Greens wouldn't have targeted the seat in the same way that they did."

Powell was the sole 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 accepted "the group's decision" for the ruling, citing concern about necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party needed to draw inspiration from the reasons for 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 Labour policies."

"It is essential we draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could do that better nationally," she continued.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at returning to parliament. A source close to him commented, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never."

To date, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite calling 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 shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes new laws on 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 simply incorrect."