Labour Deploys Cabinet Heavyweights in Final Push for By-Election Victory
In a dramatic last-minute effort, more than a dozen senior Labour ministers were drafted into the final hours of the party's by-election campaign, as they battled to cling onto the formerly safe seat of Gorton and Denton. With the result hanging on a knife edge, the deployment of top Cabinet figures underscored the high stakes for Sir Keir Starmer's leadership.
Senior Ministers Brave Torrential Rain in Northwest Campaign Blitz
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson all braved pouring rain in the North West to knock on doors and distribute leaflets. They were joined by Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones and Chief Whip Jonathan Reynolds, who took to the streets in a clear sign of the party's intense focus on preventing voter desertions to the Greens on the left and Reform on the right.
This seat has long been a Labour stronghold, with former MP Andrew Gwynne securing a commanding majority of 13,413 at the general election. However, his resignation following revelations of offensive WhatsApp comments about locals, published by the Mail on Sunday, triggered this critical by-election. Nationally, Labour is losing support to both Reform and the Greens, forcing the party to throw everything into this campaign to avert a fresh crisis.
Massive Volunteer Mobilisation and Leadership Drama
In total, more than 1,000 Labour activists travelled to the constituency on Thursday in a desperate bid to secure victory. Among them was Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, whom the Prime Minister controversially blocked from standing over fears he would use a return to Parliament to challenge for the leadership. Burnham, however, insisted he had no regrets about not being on the ballot paper, praising Labour candidate Angeliki Stogia at a final photocall.
'No, we've got a brilliant candidate, and she hasn't put a foot wrong,' Mr Burnham said. 'She's been out every day. She's done us proud.' Stogia added: 'We've got more than 1,000 volunteers out as we speak. We're expecting more people to join us later on, people are enthused with the campaign and we are going to carry on knocking, and, you know, we've got the blessings of the Manchester rain.'
Allegations of Dirty Tricks and Fierce Rivalry
Deputy Leader Lucy Powell struck a confident tone before polls opened, stating: 'We are positive, we are feeling confident.' However, the campaign has been marred by allegations of dirty tricks, with Labour accused of using misleading bar charts on leaflets that omitted the Greens, as well as faking a tactical voting organisation.
As polling commenced, the Greens attempted to position themselves as the only viable option to stop Reform from winning. Their candidate, Hannah Spencer, declared in a final video: 'Right now Labour are out of the race.' Meanwhile, Nigel Farage joined efforts to mobilise voters, framing the contest as a direct battle between his Reform candidate, Matt Goodwin, and the Greens. Farage noted that Reform UK was evolving into a 'proper, professional' political party but admitted uncertainty about the outcome: 'Who's going to win? I couldn't tell you.'
The result of this tightly contested by-election is expected in the early hours of Friday morning, with Labour's future direction potentially hanging in the balance.
