The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Won the Recent Byelection, States Labour Deputy Leader
Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham would have won the recent Manchester byelection, as she called for her party to make more use of the influential Greater Manchester mayor.
A Surprise Victory for the Greens
Overcoming a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, became the party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for nearly a century.
The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin finished second, just ahead of the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.
Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision
The unexpected outcome has sparked renewed questioning of the party's controversial decision to block Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.
Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "He likely could 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 vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.
Collective Decision
However, she told the BBC she accepted "collective responsibility" for the outcome, pointing to worries over necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.
Powell also emphasized 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 on their side, someone who is implementing those Labour values and Labour policies."
"We have to draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could replicate that success nationally," she continued.
Future Speculation
Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go at returning to parliament. One ally said, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never."
To date, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite calling the poll result "disappointing."
Party Response
Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, described the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party.
Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is expected to caution about the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes new laws on tougher immigration measures next week.
A source close to the Home Secretary was quoted as saying, "The party 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."
