The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Won the Recent Byelection, Says Labour Number Two

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham would have triumphed in the recent Manchester 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 last general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, became the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred 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.

Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision

The unexpected outcome has prompted fresh debate 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, remarked, "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 only member of Labour's top decision-making body to support allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Collective Decision

However, she told the BBC she understood "the group's decision" for the ruling, pointing to worries over 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 Labour values 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 added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at returning to parliament. One ally said, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never."

So far, Burnham himself has yet to comment 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, described the byelection result "a stark warning" for the party.

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is expected to warn against the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces legislation for stricter border controls next week.

An insider was quoted as saying, "The Labour government should not misinterpret the message from its electoral setback. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."