The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Deputy Leader

Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham would have triumphed in the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she urged her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Green Party

Overturning a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, Hannah Spencer, a local plumber, was elected as the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

Reform UK's Matt Goodwin finished second, narrowly beating the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.

Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision

The unexpected outcome has sparked renewed questioning 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, remarked, "He probably would have held the seat. I think certainly the Greens wouldn't have targeted the seat in the same way 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 "collective responsibility" for the ruling, pointing to worries over triggering a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed 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 fighting for them, someone who is delivering those core principles and Labour policies."

"We have to draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and reflect on how we could replicate that success across the country," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering another attempt at returning to parliament. A source close to him said, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never."

So far, 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 "disappointing."

Internal Reactions

Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, described the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party.

Meanwhile, 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 stricter border controls next week.

An insider was quoted as saying, "The party should not misinterpret the message from its electoral setback. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."