The Greater Manchester Mayor Was 'Likely' to Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Deputy Leader

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham would have triumphed in the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she called for her party to leverage the popular 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 local plumber, was elected as the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

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

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The unexpected outcome has sparked renewed questioning 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, stated, "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 vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Collective Decision

However, she stated she understood "collective responsibility" for the outcome, pointing to worries over triggering a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party must 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 utilise that insight, make use of Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could replicate that success nationally," she continued.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at returning to parliament. One ally commented, "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 byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite labelling 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 set to warn against the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces legislation for stricter border controls next week.

An insider was reported stating, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."