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

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham could have won the recent Manchester byelection, as she called for her party to make more use of the influential Greater Manchester mayor.

An Unexpected Result for the Greens

Overturning a sizable 13,000-vote Labour majority from the previous general election, a local Green councillor, a community tradesperson, was elected as the party's fifth MP on Friday. This occurred in an area that had consistently returned Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

The Reform Party's Matt Goodwin placed second, narrowly beating the official Labour contender, Angeliki Stogia.

Renewed Scrutiny Over Candidate Decision

The unexpected outcome has sparked renewed questioning of the party's choice to block Andy Burnham from standing in the seat last month.

Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, stated, "He likely could 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 top decision-making body to support allowing Burnham to stand, with eight others, including leader Keir Starmer, voting against.

Collective Decision

However, she told the BBC she accepted "the group's decision" for the outcome, pointing to worries over triggering a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also emphasized that her party needed to draw inspiration from the sources of Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is on their side, someone who is delivering those core principles 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 replicate that success across the country," she added.

Future Speculation

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at becoming an MP again. A source close to him said, "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 not publicly spoken on the byelection result. 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, called the byelection result "a stark warning" for the party.

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is expected to warn against the party moving to the left in response to the defeat. This comes as the government proposes new laws on stricter border controls next week.

An insider was quoted as saying, "The Labour government should not learn the wrong lessons from its recent byelection loss. The idea that we are alienating support over immigration is simply incorrect."