The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Won the Recent Byelection, States Labour Deputy Leader

Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham would have triumphed in the recent Manchester byelection, while she called for her party to leverage the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Greens

Overcoming a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous 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 elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin finished second, just ahead of the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.

Renewed Scrutiny Over Blocked Candidacy

The unexpected outcome 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 targeted the seat in the manner that they did."

Powell was the only member of Labour's ruling national executive committee to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Collective Decision

However, she told the BBC she accepted "collective responsibility" for the outcome, citing concern about necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party must draw inspiration 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 core principles and Labour policies."

"We have to utilise that insight, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could do that better across the country," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go at returning to parliament. One ally 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 yet to comment on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite labelling the poll result "disheartening."

Internal Reactions

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 expected to warn against the party shifting leftward 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 learn the wrong lessons from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."