Andy Burnham Would 'Probably' Have Secured the Recent Byelection, Says Labour Number Two
The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham could have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she urged her party to make more use of the influential Greater Manchester mayor.
An Unexpected Result for the Green Party
Overcoming a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, Hannah Spencer, a local plumber, became the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened 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.
Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision
The surprise result has prompted fresh debate of the party's controversial decision to prevent Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month.
In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "He 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 top decision-making body to support allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.
Collective Decision
However, she told the BBC she understood "collective responsibility" for the ruling, citing concern about necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.
Powell also emphasized that her party needed to draw inspiration from the sources of Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is fighting for them, someone who is delivering those core principles and Labour policies."
"It is essential we utilise that insight, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could do that better across the country," she continued.
Future Speculation
Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at becoming an MP again. A source close to him commented, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never."
To date, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite calling the poll result "disheartening."
Party Response
Angela Rayner, a key figure 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 shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes legislation for tougher immigration measures next week.
An insider was reported stating, "The Labour government should not misinterpret the message from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."
