Labour's Burnham Snub: Greens Gain, Starmer Learns

0:00It's February 28th. This episode is brought to you by NordVPN, fast, reliable online privacy. Links in the episode description, let's get into the latest UK headlines. Labour's deputy leader Lucy Powell says, greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham would likely have held the Gordon and Denton by election seat if he'd been allowed to run. The party dropped a third place there on Thursday, with the Greens picking up their fifth seat in Parliament and reform UK taking second. Powell was the lone voice on Labour's National Executive Committee pushing for Burnham to stand, but eight others, including leader Keir Starmer. Voted it down, she believes the Greens wouldn't have pushed as hard without that opening. Party insiders point at Burnham's appeal as someone delivering real Labour values, and Powell urges the government to learn from that and make better. Use of him nationally, she's spoken with Starmer recently and he seems focused on those lessons. Burnham hasn't weighed in yet, while Starmer calls the result disappointing, but bows to

1:01keep fighting. Meanwhile, home secretary Shabana Mahmoud plans tougher immigration laws next week and warns against shifting left to chase loss voters. This by-election shakes up Labour's strategy talks, highlighting tensions over local heroes versus national plans as they push forward.