đź”— Share this article Andy Burnham Was 'Likely' to Have Secured the Recent Byelection, States Labour Deputy Leader Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham could have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she called for her party to make more use of the influential Greater Manchester mayor. A Surprise Victory for the Greens Overcoming a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, was elected as the party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had elected Labour MPs for nearly a century. The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin placed second, just ahead of the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia. Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision The unexpected outcome has prompted fresh debate 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, stated, "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 sole 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 stated she accepted "the group's decision" for the ruling, pointing to worries over triggering a separate election in Greater Manchester. Powell also emphasized that her party must learn from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity 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." "We have to draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and reflect on how we could replicate that success across the country," she added. What Comes Next Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at returning to parliament. 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." 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 key figure on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party. Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is set to warn against the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces legislation for tougher immigration measures next week. A source close to the Home Secretary 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."
Labour's deputy leader has indicated that Andy Burnham could have won the Gorton and Denton byelection, as she called for her party to make more use of the influential Greater Manchester mayor. A Surprise Victory for the Greens Overcoming a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the last general election, a local Green councillor, a local plumber, was elected as the party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had elected Labour MPs for nearly a century. The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin placed second, just ahead of the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia. Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision The unexpected outcome has prompted fresh debate 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, stated, "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 sole 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 stated she accepted "the group's decision" for the ruling, pointing to worries over triggering a separate election in Greater Manchester. Powell also emphasized that her party must learn from the reasons for Burnham's widespread popularity 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." "We have to draw on that, leverage Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and reflect on how we could replicate that success across the country," she added. What Comes Next Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out having another go at returning to parliament. 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." 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 key figure on Labour's left, called the byelection result "a wake-up call" for the party. Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is set to warn against the party shifting leftward in response to the defeat. This comes as she introduces legislation for tougher immigration measures next week. A source close to the Home Secretary 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."