🔗 Share this article The Greater Manchester Mayor Was 'Likely' to Have Secured Gorton and Denton Byelection, Says Labour Number Two Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham would have won the recent Manchester byelection, as she urged her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor. An Unexpected Result for the Greens Overturning a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, became the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had elected Labour MPs for nearly a century. The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin placed second, just ahead of the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia. Renewed Scrutiny Over Blocked Candidacy 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 likely could have held the seat. I think definitely 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 vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move. Collective Decision However, she told the BBC she accepted "the group's decision" for the outcome, citing concern about triggering a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester. Powell also stressed that her party needed to learn from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is fighting for them, someone who is implementing those core principles and Labour policies." "It is essential we draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could do that better nationally," she continued. Future Speculation Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at returning to parliament. A source close to him said, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never." So far, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite labelling the poll result "disheartening." Internal Reactions Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a stark warning" for the party. In contrast, the Home Secretary is set to caution about 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 reported stating, "The party should not misinterpret the message from its electoral setback. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."
Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham would have won the recent Manchester byelection, as she urged her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor. An Unexpected Result for the Greens Overturning a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, became the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had elected Labour MPs for nearly a century. The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin placed second, just ahead of the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia. Renewed Scrutiny Over Blocked Candidacy 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 likely could have held the seat. I think definitely 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 vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move. Collective Decision However, she told the BBC she accepted "the group's decision" for the outcome, citing concern about triggering a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester. Powell also stressed that her party needed to learn from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is fighting for them, someone who is implementing those core principles and Labour policies." "It is essential we draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could do that better nationally," she continued. Future Speculation Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at returning to parliament. A source close to him said, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never." So far, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite labelling the poll result "disheartening." Internal Reactions Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a stark warning" for the party. In contrast, the Home Secretary is set to caution about 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 reported stating, "The party should not misinterpret the message from its electoral setback. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."