🔗 Share this article Andy Burnham Was 'Likely' to Have Secured the Recent Byelection, Says Labour Deputy Leader Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham could have won the recent Manchester byelection, while she urged her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor. A Surprise Victory for the Green Party Overturning a substantial 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 consistently returned Labour MPs for almost one hundred years. Reform UK's Matt Goodwin finished second, just ahead of the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia. Renewed Scrutiny Over Blocked Candidacy The surprise result has sparked fresh debate of the party's choice to block Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month. In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "Andy Burnham 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 ruling national executive committee to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move. Collective Decision However, she told the BBC she accepted "collective responsibility" for the outcome, pointing to worries over necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester. Powell also emphasized that her party must learn from the sources of 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." "It is essential we draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could do that better nationally," she added. What Comes Next Andy Burnham is reportedly considering another attempt at returning to parliament. A source close to him said, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never." To date, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite labelling the poll result "disheartening." Internal Reactions Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, described 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. 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 simply incorrect."
Labour's deputy leader has suggested that Andy Burnham could have won the recent Manchester byelection, while she urged her party to leverage the influential Greater Manchester mayor. A Surprise Victory for the Green Party Overturning a substantial 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 consistently returned Labour MPs for almost one hundred years. Reform UK's Matt Goodwin finished second, just ahead of the Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia. Renewed Scrutiny Over Blocked Candidacy The surprise result has sparked fresh debate of the party's choice to block Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month. In an interview with the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "Andy Burnham 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 ruling national executive committee to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand, with the majority, including leader Keir Starmer, opposing the move. Collective Decision However, she told the BBC she accepted "collective responsibility" for the outcome, pointing to worries over necessitating a separate election in Greater Manchester. Powell also emphasized that her party must learn from the sources of 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." "It is essential we draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and consider how we could do that better nationally," she added. What Comes Next Andy Burnham is reportedly considering another attempt at returning to parliament. A source close to him said, "Given the current political climate, who knows what might happen. It would be unwise to say he would never." To date, Burnham himself has not publicly spoken on the Gorton and Denton outcome. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite labelling the poll result "disheartening." Internal Reactions Angela Rayner, a prominent voice on Labour's left, described 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. 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 simply incorrect."