🔗 Share this article The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Secured the Recent Byelection, Says Labour Deputy Leader Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the recent Manchester byelection, while she called for her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor. A Surprise Victory for the Greens Overcoming a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, a local Green councillor, a community tradesperson, became the party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had elected Labour MPs for nearly a century. The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin finished second, just ahead of the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia. Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision The surprise result has sparked fresh debate of the party's controversial decision to prevent Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month. Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "He probably would have held the seat. I think certainly the Greens wouldn't have gone after the seat in the manner that they did." Powell was the sole member of Labour's ruling national executive committee to support allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against. Accepting Responsibility However, she stated she understood "the group's decision" for the outcome, pointing to worries over necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester. Powell also emphasized that her party needed to learn from the reasons for Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is fighting for them, someone who is implementing those Labour values and party pledges." "It is essential we utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and reflect on how we could replicate that success nationally," she continued. Future Speculation Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at becoming an MP again. One ally said, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never." So far, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite calling the poll result "disappointing." Internal Reactions 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 set to warn against 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 quoted as saying, "The party should not misinterpret the message from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."
Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham could have triumphed in the recent Manchester byelection, while she called for her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor. A Surprise Victory for the Greens Overcoming a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, a local Green councillor, a community tradesperson, became the party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had elected Labour MPs for nearly a century. The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin finished second, just ahead of the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia. Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision The surprise result has sparked fresh debate of the party's controversial decision to prevent Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month. Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "He probably would have held the seat. I think certainly the Greens wouldn't have gone after the seat in the manner that they did." Powell was the sole member of Labour's ruling national executive committee to support allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against. Accepting Responsibility However, she stated she understood "the group's decision" for the outcome, pointing to worries over necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester. Powell also emphasized that her party needed to learn from the reasons for Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is fighting for them, someone who is implementing those Labour values and party pledges." "It is essential we utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and reflect on how we could replicate that success nationally," she continued. Future Speculation Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at becoming an MP again. One ally said, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never." So far, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite calling the poll result "disappointing." Internal Reactions 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 set to warn against 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 quoted as saying, "The party should not misinterpret the message from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."