The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Won the Recent Byelection, Says Labour Number Two
Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham would have won the recent Manchester byelection, while she called for her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor.
An Unexpected Result for the Green Party
Overturning a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, was elected as the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.
The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin placed second, narrowly beating the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.
Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision
The surprise result has prompted fresh debate of the party's choice to block 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 sole member of Labour's ruling national executive committee to support allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.
Accepting Responsibility
However, she stated she accepted "collective responsibility" for the ruling, pointing to worries over necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.
Powell also emphasized that her party must draw inspiration from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is fighting for them, someone who is implementing those Labour values and party pledges."
"It is essential we utilise that insight, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could do that better across the country," she continued.
Future Speculation
Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at becoming an MP again. 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 Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite labelling the poll result "disheartening."
Internal Reactions
Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, described the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party.
In contrast, the Home Secretary is set to caution about the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes legislation for stricter border controls next week.
A source close to the Home Secretary was reported stating, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."
