The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Secured the Recent Byelection, Says Labour Deputy Leader
The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the recent Manchester 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 sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, was elected as the party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened 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 official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.
Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision
The unexpected outcome has prompted renewed questioning of the party's choice to prevent Andy Burnham from contesting 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 certainly the Greens wouldn't have targeted the seat in the manner that they did."
Powell was the only member of Labour's top decision-making body to support allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.
Accepting Responsibility
However, she told the BBC she accepted "the group's decision" for the outcome, pointing to worries over necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.
Powell also emphasized that her party needed to learn from the reasons for Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is on their side, someone who is delivering those Labour values and Labour policies."
"We have to utilise that insight, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could replicate that success across the country," she added.
Future Speculation
Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go at becoming an MP again. One ally commented, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise 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 "disappointing."
Party Response
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 expected to caution about the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes new laws on stricter border controls next week.
An insider was quoted as saying, "The party should not learn the wrong lessons from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is just plain wrong."
