The Greater Manchester Mayor Was 'Likely' to Have Won Gorton and Denton Byelection, Says Labour Number Two

Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham would have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, while she urged her party to make more use of the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Greens

Overcoming a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, a local Green councillor, a community tradesperson, was elected as the party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

Reform UK's Matt Goodwin finished second, just ahead of the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The surprise result has prompted fresh debate of the party's choice to prevent Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.

Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "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 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 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 must learn from the sources of Burnham's widespread popularity 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."

"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 added.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at returning to parliament. A source close to him commented, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."

To date, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite labelling the poll result "disappointing."

Internal Reactions

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

In contrast, the Home Secretary is set to warn against the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes legislation for stricter border controls next week.

An insider was reported stating, "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."