Andy Burnham Would 'Probably' Have Secured the Recent Byelection, Says Labour Number Two

The party's second-in-command has indicated that Andy Burnham would have triumphed in the recent Manchester byelection, while 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 last general election, Hannah Spencer, a community tradesperson, became the Green Party's fifth MP on Friday. This happened in an area that had elected Labour MPs for almost one hundred years.

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

Fresh Questions Over Candidate Decision

The unexpected outcome has prompted renewed questioning of the party's choice to prevent Andy Burnham from contesting the seat last month.

Speaking to the BBC, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, remarked, "He probably would have held the seat. I think definitely the Greens wouldn't have targeted the seat in the same way that they did."

Powell was the sole member of Labour's ruling national executive committee 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 outcome, pointing to worries over triggering a separate election in Greater Manchester.

Powell also stressed that her party needed to learn from the sources of Burnham's strong support in the region. She said people "see in him someone who is fighting for them, someone who is delivering those core principles and party pledges."

"It is essential we utilise that insight, leverage Andy Burnham, but also learn from it and reflect on how we could do that better across the country," she continued.

What Comes Next

Andy Burnham is understood not to have ruled out another attempt at becoming an MP again. One ally 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 byelection result. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on despite labelling the poll result "disheartening."

Internal Reactions

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 expected 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.

A source close to the Home Secretary was quoted as saying, "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."