Elections

The Conservative Party has selected Walshaw resident and business owner Emma Lee as its candidate for the Tottington by election on Thursday 2nd April. The party said protecting the local Green Belt and strengthening community representation would be central to her campaign.

Civil war has erupted within Labour as activists in Gorton and Denton accused the party of ‘not being willing to change’ during its by-election campaign. It comes as Labour suffered a bruising defeat in the race which saw it lose the seat to the Green Party despite having a 13,000-vote majority in the 2024 general election.

Together for Bury has confirmed that former councillor Greg Keeley will stand for the party in the forthcoming Tottington by election.

Hannah Spencer has been elected the new Green MP for the constituency of Gorton and Denton. Spencer succeeds former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne, who resigned on health grounds earlier this year.

Labour’s Deputy leader Lucy Powell has appeared to concede defeat in the Gorton and Denton by-election. 

Accredited election observers have reported what they describe as unusually high levels of family voting during the Gorton and Denton Westminster Parliamentary by election.

The polls have officially closed in the Gorton and Denton by-election. It follows a dramatic campaign, full of twists and turns. 

Voters in Gorton and Denton will decide their next Member of Parliament tonight, with the result expected in the early hours of Friday morning.

As ‘She’s Electric’ blared from an open top bus, Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell started dancing to gee her up activists one final time. It’s the Labour Party’s last day of campaigning ahead of the Gorton and Denton by-election, and the mood has been surprisingly jolly.

As polling day draws closer, the contest in Gorton & Denton appears to be a tight three-way race. Polling by Opinium Research, released on Tuesday evening, shows the Greens and Labour with a narrow lead, both sitting on 28%, with Reform just a point behind on 27%. Some will have already cast their vote through postal voting, but many will be heading to one of the 45 polling stations that are in the constituency.

A serving Bury councillor has defected to Reform UK, becoming the party’s second representative on the local authority.

The Green Party candidate, Hannah Spencer, has spoken to Roch Valley Radio about the By-Election and her ambitions if she was to be elected on the 26th February, saying the election will be decided by "a handful of votes".

Audio

Reform UK’s Gorton and Denton by-election candidate, Matt Goodwin, has accused his Green Party rival, Hannah Spencer, of “reading off a script” during the recent hustings, in an exclusive interview with Roch Valley Radio.

A biting wind howled through Haughton Green as anxious faces watched for an expected bus.

Thousands of young people across Bury have taken part in a borough wide vote to choose their new Member of Youth Parliament, with turnout exceeding 35 per cent of those eligible.

The Business Secretary has warned that local firms in Gorton and Denton could be put at risk if Reform UK wins next week’s by election, as campaigning intensifies across the constituency.

Two young people have been elected to represent the borough of Rochdale as the latest Members of UK Youth Parliament following a borough wide vote.