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

Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham could have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she urged her party to make more use of the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Greens

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

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

Renewed Scrutiny Over Blocked Candidacy

The unexpected outcome has prompted renewed questioning 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, remarked, "Andy Burnham likely could 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 only member of Labour's top decision-making body to support allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Collective Decision

However, she stated she understood "collective responsibility" for the outcome, pointing to worries over necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party needed to learn 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 implementing those Labour values and party pledges."

"We have to utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could replicate that success nationally," she continued.

Future Speculation

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."

So far, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite labelling the poll result "disappointing."

Internal Reactions

Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, described 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 the government proposes legislation for stricter border controls next week.

An insider was quoted as saying, "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."