Andy Burnham Was 'Likely' to Have Secured the Recent Byelection, States Labour Number Two

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham could have won the recent Manchester byelection, as she urged her party to make more use of the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Green Party

Overcoming a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, Hannah Spencer, a local plumber, became 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 Blocked Candidacy

The surprise result has prompted fresh debate of the party's choice to block Andy Burnham from contesting 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 gone after the seat in the same way that they did."

Powell was the sole member of Labour's top decision-making body to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Collective Decision

However, she stated she accepted "collective responsibility" for the outcome, pointing to worries over necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party must draw inspiration from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is on their side, 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 reflect on how we could do that better across the country," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at becoming an MP again. 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."

To date, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite labelling the poll result "disheartening."

Party Response

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

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is set 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 reported stating, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."