'We'll never know' - Burnham on his by-election chances

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has said "we'll never know" if he would have won the Gorton and Denton by-election for Labour had he been allowed to stand as the party's candidate.

The Green Party's Hannah Spencer won in the former stronghold for Labour, which was pushed into third place behind Reform. Local plumber Spencer received 14,980 votes, with a swing of 26.4% from Labour to Greens.

Reflecting on whether the result could have been different if Labour had not blocked Burnham from running for the party, Burnham told BBC Radio Manchester: "We'll never know will we, let's be honest. Who knows?"

"We are where we are and we'll never know, is the truth about it," he added.

The Green Party won its fifth Westminster seat in Thursday's vote and its first in a by-election.

In her emotional victory speech after winning the seat, Spencer promised to fight for those who felt "left behind", as she celebrated a majority of more than 4,000.

It was the second by-election since Labour's general election victory in 2024 and Labour's second loss to a party with only a handful of sitting MPs - after Reform UK won Runcorn and Helsby in May last year.

The result has led to further questioning of the decision by Labour's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) to block Burnham from contesting the seat, citing the "disproportionate" cost to the party of having a mayoral election to replace him.

Burnham expressed some form of relief at the result - hinting that he was pleased that Reform UK's Matt Goodwin, who came second with 10,578 votes, had not won.

"The logic I applied when I put myself forward still stands though," he said.

"I do think it is right to defend what we built in Greater Manchester, be proud of it and not allow a divisive politics in.

"And, in the end, the good people of Gorton and Denton in the end didn't do that.

"They didn't vote for - what I would say is - a more divisive form of politics."

Following the by-election result, in which Labour's Angeliki Stogia came third with 9,364 votes, Reform UK's Goodwin said he thought he had "embarrassed Labour in one of their strongest seats".

"I think if we can do this here, we can do this pretty much anywhere," he added.

He also blamed the Green victory on a "coalition of Islamists and woke progressives".

Since the by-election result, Labour's deputy leader Lucy Powell told the BBC's Newscast podcast that "the Greens wouldn't have gone after the seat in the same way that they did", if Burnham had been allowed to stand.

Burnham went on to say "to anybody listening in Gorton and Denton, I hear the depth of frustration with Westminster politics.

"And I don't blame anyone, if you like, who chose not to vote - or voted in a different way perhaps who had been a traditional Labour voter.

"I understand why they feel like they do about the way national politics is and the important thing is now is how to respond to that."

When asked whether he was planning to stand in St Helens South if and when the incumbent MP, Marie Rimmer, steps down - Burnham kept his cards close to his chest and neither confirmed nor denied.

"I know, people throw these rumours out all the time and I'm getting a bit fed up of it honestly," he said.

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