It comes after Labour’s governing body last weekend decided to block the Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s Westminster comeback, sparking an internal party row
Labour has unveiled their candidate for next month’s crunch byelection – as a senior party figure waded into the feud over Andy Burnham.
Angeliki Stogia will stand for the party, facing off Reform UK’s candidate Matt Goodwin, and Green councillor Hannah Spencer, a 34-year-old plumber.
However, the announcement risked being overshadowed by a bitter row following anonymous attacks on Mr Burnham, the Greater Manchester Mayor. Labour’s governing body last weekend decided to block Andy Burnham’s Westminster comeback, sparking an internal party row.
READ MORE: Voters hit out as Nigel Farage parades divisive candidate while Burnham row deepens
On Saturday an anonymous cabinet minister was reported to have claimed Mr Burnham had been “handed everything on a plate for his whole career”, adding “he’s now angry because people won’t make way for his second coming. It’s typical Andy.”
The briefing prompted a furious response from Steve Rotheram, the Labour Mayor for the Liverpool City Region. In a post on X, he said: “Enough already. I’ve kept my counsel so far because there were assurances from the Prime Minister that anonymous briefings against Andy Burnham would stop.
“These gutless people hide behind the cloak of anonymity – just like the keyboard warriors they rail against.
“If they want to know what the use of political power is then we can compare which campaigns they have assisted with compared to Andy. But of course that would require them to go on the record. These anonymous attacks help nobody but our opponents.”
The crunch by-election will be held on February 26 after suspended Labour MP Andrew Gwynne announced he was stepping down.
Labour’s candidate, Ms Stogia, is a local resident and Manchester councillor.
Labour’s candidate, Angeliki Stogia, said: “I have devoted my life to working and campaigning for the people of Manchester and Greater Manchester. In the last 12 years alone, I have a campaigned for good homes, better transport, and a greener Manchester.
“Now I’m standing to be your Member of Parliament to unite our community and stand up to the divisive politics of Reform.”
“This is a moment of choice for Gorton and Denton – between a community that stands united or politics that divides neighbour from neighbour. I’m on the side of unity, fairness and hope.”
Labour won the seat in Greater Manchester with more than half the vote – 18,555 – in 2024, with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK coming second on 5,142 votes, narrowly beating the Greens at 4,810.
Members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) voted last week to bar Mr Burnham from quitting as Greater Manchester Mayor to run in the Gorton and Denton by-election. A core panel, including Keir Starmer, voted 8-1 against him, with only Deputy Leader Lucy Powell showing her support. Labour cited the cost to the taxpayer of running an unexpected mayoral race to replace him among the reasons for the decision.
Speaking after the decision, Mr Burnham accused the party of briefing the media before informing him of the decision. In a fiery statement, he said: “The fact that the media was informed of the NEC decision before I was tells you everything you need to know about the way the Labour Party is being run these days. You would think that over 30 years of service would count for something but sadly not.”
Earlier this week locals voiced their opposition to the Reform leader during his visit with controversial wannabe MP Mr Goodwin, who sparked a racism row last year by claiming people born in the UK are not necessarily British, and declined to disown the comments this week..