Labour has announced Manchester city councillor Angeliki Stogia as its candidate for the Gorton and Denton by-election, following internal party turmoil after Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham was blocked from standing for the seat.
The party unveiled Stogia at a launch event in the constituency on Saturday afternoon, with Labour party chairwoman Anna Turley and deputy leader Lucy Powell flanking the candidate. Stogia, who represents Whalley Range and has served as a Manchester councillor since 2012, described herself as a «proud Mancunian woman». She told supporters: «I have walked the streets of this constituency.» The candidate sought to position Labour against division, declaring: «This is about Manchester. Manchester is a city united, we are rejecting division. I am so looking forward to going out on the doorstep and winning this for Labour.»
Internal party tensions
The candidacy follows sharp divisions within Labour after Burnham was denied permission to stand for the by-election. The Greater Manchester mayor complained that «people just think they can say what they like to the media» in the aftermath of his blocked bid.
Steve Rotheram, Labour mayor of the Liverpool City Region, criticized anonymous briefings within the party on social media site X. He called those responsible «gutless» and warned: «These anonymous attacks help nobody but our opponents. For the sake of our party, please just stop.»
Electoral context
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of former MP Andrew Gwynne, who stepped down citing health reasons. Gwynne secured the seat for Labour in 2024 with 18,555 votes, more than half the total vote. Reform UK came second with 5,142 votes, while the Green Party gained 4,810 votes.
Stogia will face Matt Goodwin, a GB News presenter and former academic standing for Reform UK, Hannah Spencer for the Green Party, and Jackie Pearcey for the Liberal Democrats. An early opinion poll suggests potential decline in Labour's support in the seat, with Reform and the Greens possibly gaining larger shares, though the poll's small sample size implies a larger-than-usual margin of error.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
