Andy Burnham Was 'Likely' to Have Secured the Recent Byelection, Says Labour Deputy Leader

Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham would have triumphed in the recent Manchester byelection, while she urged her party to make more use of the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Green Party

Overturning a substantial 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, a local Green councillor, a community tradesperson, became the party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

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

Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision

The surprise result has prompted fresh debate of the party's choice to block Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month.

Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "He 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.

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 stressed that her party needed to learn from the sources of Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "view him as someone who is fighting for them, someone who is delivering those Labour values and party pledges."

"We have to draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and reflect on how we could do that better across the country," she continued.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering another attempt at becoming an MP again. One ally said, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be foolish to say he would never."

To date, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite labelling the poll result "disheartening."

Internal Reactions

Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a wake-up call" 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 party 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."