The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Secured the Recent Byelection, States 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 make more use of the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

A Surprise Victory for the Green Party

Overcoming a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, became the party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

Reform UK's Matt Goodwin finished second, just ahead of the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.

Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision

The unexpected outcome has sparked renewed questioning of the party's choice to prevent Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month.

In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "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 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 understood "the group's decision" for the outcome, pointing to worries over triggering a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party must 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 Labour values and party pledges."

"It is essential we utilise that insight, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could do that better nationally," she continued.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at returning to parliament. One ally commented, "With all the chaos and turmoil, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never."

To date, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite calling the poll result "disheartening."

Party Response

Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, described the byelection result "a stark warning" for the party.

In contrast, the Home Secretary is expected to caution about the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes legislation for stricter border controls 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 just plain wrong."