Andy Burnham Would 'Probably' Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Number Two

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.

A Surprise Victory for the Greens

Overcoming a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, became the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had consistently returned 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 surprise result has sparked 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 likely could have held the seat. I think certainly 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, opposing the move.

Accepting Responsibility

However, she told the BBC she accepted "the group's decision" for the ruling, pointing to worries over triggering a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party needed to 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 core principles and party pledges."

"It is essential we draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could replicate that success across the country," she added.

What Comes Next

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

To date, Burnham himself has yet to comment 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, described the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party.

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is set to caution about the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces legislation for stricter border controls next week.

An insider was quoted as saying, "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."