Andy Burnham Would 'Probably' Have Won Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Deputy Leader

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham would have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she called for her party to make more use of the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Green Party

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 consistently returned Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

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

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The surprise result has prompted renewed questioning of the party's choice to block Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.

In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "He 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 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 outcome, citing concern about triggering 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 "see in him someone who is on their side, someone who is delivering those core principles and party pledges."

"We have to utilise that insight, make use of Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could replicate that success nationally," she continued.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go at becoming an MP again. One ally 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 not publicly spoken on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite labelling the poll result "disheartening."

Party Response

Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a stark warning" for the party.

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is expected to caution about the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces new laws on tougher immigration measures next week.

A source close to the Home Secretary was quoted as saying, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is just plain wrong."