Andy Burnham Would 'Probably' Have Secured the Recent Byelection, States Labour Number Two

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 leverage the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Green Party

Overcoming a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous 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.

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

Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision

The unexpected outcome has prompted renewed questioning of the party's controversial decision to prevent Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.

In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "He likely could 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 vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Collective Decision

However, she told the BBC she understood "collective responsibility" for the ruling, citing concern about triggering a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party must draw inspiration from the sources of Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is fighting for them, someone who is delivering those Labour values and party pledges."

"It is essential we draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could replicate that success across the country," she continued.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at becoming an MP again. A source close to him said, "With all the chaos and turmoil, 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 vowed to fight on despite calling the poll result "disappointing."

Party Response

Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, described the byelection result "a stark warning" for the party.

In contrast, the Home Secretary is set to warn against the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes new laws on stricter border controls next week.

An insider was quoted as saying, "The party should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is just plain wrong."