Andy Burnham has said the Gorton and Denton by-election “revealed the full depth of the chasm between people and Westminster politics” after Labour lost to the Green Party. The Greater Manchester mayor was blocked from standing as Labour’s candidate by the party’s National Executive Committee, amid concerns he could mount a leadership challenge to Sir Keir Starmer.
Mr Burnham appeared on the campaign trail with Labour candidate Angeliki Stogia, who finished third behind the Green Party’s Hannah Spencer and Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin. Speaking at a Centre for Cities event in London, Mr Burnham said the result showed Westminster was not focused on ordinary people’s priorities.
“What I want to say today is that the time has most definitely come for a serious conversation about our political system and its pervading culture,” Mr Burnham said. “It revealed the full depth of the chasm between people and Westminster politics. I don’t think anybody can seriously dispute that statement.”
The defeat was a blow for Labour, which had defended a majority of 13,000 votes from the 2024 general election but finished more than 5,000 votes behind the Green Party. Several constituents told The Independent they would have voted Labour if Mr Burnham had been the candidate. Lifelong Labour voter John Harrison said Sir Keir “doesn’t represent towns like ours” and described the prime minister as “aloof”.
Mr Burnham, re-elected as mayor in May 2024 with 63 per cent of the vote, described polling that found a majority of people do not think the cost of living crisis will ever end as “code red for Westminster politics”. He added: “This is getting extremely dangerous, and change in our political system and culture is desperately needed.”
