The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Secured the Recent Byelection, States Labour Deputy Leader
Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham would have triumphed in the recent Manchester byelection, as she called for her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor.
A Surprise Victory for the Green Party
Overturning a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, a local Green councillor, a community tradesperson, was elected as the party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for nearly a century.
Reform UK's Matt Goodwin finished second, narrowly beating the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.
Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision
The surprise result 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, "Andy Burnham probably would have held the seat. I think certainly the Greens wouldn't have targeted 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 the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.
Accepting Responsibility
However, she told the BBC she understood "the group's decision" for the outcome, pointing to worries over necessitating a mayoral byelection in Greater Manchester.
Powell also stressed that her party must learn from the reasons for Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is fighting for them, someone who is delivering those Labour values and party pledges."
"It is essential we draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could replicate that success nationally," she continued.
Future Speculation
Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at returning to parliament. A source close to him said, "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 "disappointing."
Internal Reactions
Angela Rayner, a key figure on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a stark warning" 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 tougher immigration measures 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 alienating support over immigration is simply incorrect."
