Andy Burnham Would 'Probably' Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, Says Labour Number Two
The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the Gorton and Denton byelection, while she called for her party to make more use of the popular Greater Manchester mayor.
A Surprise Victory for the Green Party
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 happened in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for nearly a century.
The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin placed second, just ahead of the Labour candidate, 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.
In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "Andy Burnham likely could have held the seat. I think definitely the Greens wouldn't have targeted 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 the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.
Accepting Responsibility
However, she stated she understood "collective responsibility" for the ruling, pointing to worries over necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.
Powell also stressed that her party must learn from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is fighting for them, someone who is delivering those Labour values and Labour policies."
"We have to draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could do that better across the country," she added.
Future Speculation
Andy Burnham is reportedly considering another attempt at returning to parliament. A source close to him said, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."
So far, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite calling the poll result "disappointing."
Party Response
Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, described 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 she introduces legislation for tougher immigration measures next week.
A source close to the Home Secretary was quoted as saying, "The Labour government should not misinterpret the message from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is just plain wrong."
