Andy Burnham Was 'Likely' to Have Secured the Recent Byelection, States Labour Number Two

Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham could have won the recent Manchester byelection, while she called for her party to make more use of 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, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, became 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 Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia.

Fresh Questions Over Blocked Candidacy

The unexpected outcome has prompted fresh debate of the party's controversial decision to prevent Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month.

In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "Andy Burnham probably would have held the seat. I think certainly 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 support allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Accepting Responsibility

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

Powell also stressed that her party needed to learn from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity 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."

"We have to draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could replicate that success across the country," she continued.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out 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 foolish 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."

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 moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes new laws on tougher immigration measures next week.

An insider was reported stating, "The party should not learn the wrong lessons from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is just plain wrong."