The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Won the Recent Byelection, Says Labour Number Two

Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the recent Manchester byelection, while she urged her party to leverage the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Green Party

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 consistently returned Labour MPs for nearly a century.

The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin finished second, narrowly beating the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.

Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision

The surprise result has sparked renewed questioning of the party's controversial decision to block Andy Burnham from contesting 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 gone after the seat in the manner that they did."

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

Accepting Responsibility

However, she stated she understood "the group's decision" for the ruling, citing concern about triggering a separate election 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 "view him as someone who is on their side, someone who is implementing those Labour values and party pledges."

"We have to draw on that, leverage 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, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never."

So far, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite labelling the poll result "disappointing."

Party Response

Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, described 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 she introduces legislation for tougher immigration measures next week.

A source close to the Home Secretary was reported stating, "The party should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."