The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Won the Recent Byelection, Says Labour Deputy Leader

Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham would have won the recent Manchester byelection, as she called for her party to leverage the popular Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Green Party

Overcoming a sizable 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 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 controversial decision to prevent Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.

Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "He likely could have held the seat. I think definitely the Greens wouldn't have gone after the seat in the manner 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 the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Collective Decision

However, she stated she accepted "collective responsibility" for the ruling, citing concern about triggering 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 "view him as someone who is on their side, someone who is implementing those Labour values and party pledges."

"It is essential we draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could do that better across the country," she continued.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is reportedly considering having another go at returning to parliament. One ally commented, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never."

So far, Burnham himself has yet to comment on the byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has pledged to continue despite labelling 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 set to caution about the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes legislation for tougher immigration measures next week.

A source close to the Home Secretary was reported stating, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."