The Greater Manchester Mayor Would 'Probably' Have Won the Recent Byelection, States Labour Number Two

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham would have won 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 last general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, was elected as the party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had elected Labour MPs for nearly a century.

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

Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision

The unexpected outcome has sparked renewed questioning 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, "He probably would have held the seat. I think certainly the Greens wouldn't have gone after the seat in the same way that they did."

Powell was the sole member of Labour's ruling national executive committee to support allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move.

Collective Decision

However, she told the BBC she understood "collective responsibility" for the ruling, citing concern about necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party must 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 implementing those core principles and party pledges."

"It is essential we draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could do that better nationally," she added.

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 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 calling the poll result "disappointing."

Party Response

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

In contrast, 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 reported stating, "The party should not learn the wrong lessons from its electoral setback. The idea that we are losing Muslim voters over immigration is simply incorrect."