🔗 Share this article The Greater Manchester Mayor Was 'Likely' to Have Won Gorton and Denton Byelection, States Labour Deputy Leader Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham could have won the recent Manchester byelection, as she called for her party to make more use of the influential Greater Manchester mayor. An Unexpected Result for the Greens Overcoming a substantial 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 almost one hundred years. The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin placed second, just ahead of the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia. Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision The surprise result has sparked renewed questioning of the party's choice to prevent Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month. In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "He probably would have held the seat. I think definitely the Greens wouldn't have gone after 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 "collective responsibility" for the ruling, pointing to worries over necessitating a mayoral byelection 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 on their side, someone who is delivering those core principles and party pledges." "We have to utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could replicate that success across the country," she added. Future Speculation Andy Burnham is reportedly considering another attempt at becoming an MP again. A source close to him commented, "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 not publicly spoken on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite labelling the poll result "disappointing." Party Response Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a stark warning" for the party. Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is set to caution about the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes new laws on 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 electoral setback. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."
Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham could have won the recent Manchester byelection, as she called for her party to make more use of the influential Greater Manchester mayor. An Unexpected Result for the Greens Overcoming a substantial 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 almost one hundred years. The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin placed second, just ahead of the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia. Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision The surprise result has sparked renewed questioning of the party's choice to prevent Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month. In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "He probably would have held the seat. I think definitely the Greens wouldn't have gone after 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 "collective responsibility" for the ruling, pointing to worries over necessitating a mayoral byelection 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 on their side, someone who is delivering those core principles and party pledges." "We have to utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could replicate that success across the country," she added. Future Speculation Andy Burnham is reportedly considering another attempt at becoming an MP again. A source close to him commented, "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 not publicly spoken on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite labelling the poll result "disappointing." Party Response Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a stark warning" for the party. Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is set to caution about the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes new laws on 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 electoral setback. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."