🔗 Share this article Andy Burnham Would 'Probably' Have Secured the Recent Byelection, Says Labour Number Two The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham would have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she urged her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor. An Unexpected Result for the Greens Overcoming a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, 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. Reform UK's Matt Goodwin finished second, narrowly beating the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia. Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision The unexpected outcome has sparked renewed questioning 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, "He probably would 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 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. Collective Decision However, she told the BBC she understood "the group's decision" for the outcome, citing concern about necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester. Powell also emphasized that her party must draw inspiration from the reasons for Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is on their side, someone who is delivering those core principles and party pledges." "We have to utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could do that better across the country," she continued. What Comes Next Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go at returning to parliament. A source close to him said, "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 byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite calling 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 warn against the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces new laws on stricter border controls next week. An insider was quoted as saying, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."
The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham would have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she urged her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor. An Unexpected Result for the Greens Overcoming a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, 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. Reform UK's Matt Goodwin finished second, narrowly beating the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia. Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision The unexpected outcome has sparked renewed questioning 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, "He probably would 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 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. Collective Decision However, she told the BBC she understood "the group's decision" for the outcome, citing concern about necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester. Powell also emphasized that her party must draw inspiration from the reasons for Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is on their side, someone who is delivering those core principles and party pledges." "We have to utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could do that better across the country," she continued. What Comes Next Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go at returning to parliament. A source close to him said, "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 byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite calling 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 warn against the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces new laws on stricter border controls next week. An insider was quoted as saying, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."