Andy Burnham Would 'Probably' Have Secured the Recent Byelection, Says Labour Deputy Leader

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

A Surprise Victory for the Greens

Overturning a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, was elected as the Green 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 Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The surprise result has prompted fresh debate of the party's controversial decision to block Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.

Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "Andy Burnham likely could have held the seat. I think certainly the Greens wouldn't have targeted the seat in the same way that they did."

Powell was the only member of Labour's ruling national executive committee to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Collective Decision

However, she stated she understood "the group's decision" for the outcome, citing concern about necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized 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 on their side, someone who is delivering those Labour values and party pledges."

"We have to utilise that insight, make use of Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and consider how we could replicate that success nationally," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at becoming an MP again. One ally commented, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."

So far, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite calling the poll result "disappointing."

Internal Reactions

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

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is expected to caution about the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes new laws on stricter border controls next week.

A source close to the Home Secretary was quoted as saying, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is just plain wrong."