Andy Burnham Would 'Probably' Have Secured the Recent Byelection, Says Labour Deputy Leader
The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the recent Manchester byelection, as she urged her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor.
An Unexpected Result for the Greens
Overcoming a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, a local Green councillor, a community tradesperson, became the party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for nearly a century.
Reform UK's Matt Goodwin placed second, narrowly beating the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.
Renewed Scrutiny Over Blocked Candidacy
The unexpected outcome has sparked fresh debate of the party's controversial decision to prevent Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.
Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "Andy Burnham probably would have held the seat. I think definitely 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 support allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.
Accepting Responsibility
However, she told the BBC she accepted "the group's decision" for the outcome, pointing to worries over necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.
Powell also stressed that her party needed to learn 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 core principles and Labour policies."
"It is essential we draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could replicate that success across the country," she continued.
Future Speculation
Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at returning to parliament. A source close to him said, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."
To date, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite calling the poll result "disheartening."
Party Response
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 the government proposes legislation for stricter border controls next week.
A source close to the Home Secretary was reported stating, "The party should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."
