Gorton and Denton by-election: the Young Labour party are confident Labour will keep the seat

• Members of the Young Labour Party tell NQ why they think Labour deserve to keep their seat in the Gorton and Denton by-election

“One of the things that I am proud of the government delivering is the Employment Rights Act. We were able to deliver that, because of our allegiance and strong links to the trade union movement.”

So says Anya Wilkinson, a member of the Young Labour party, who hopes to make change for young people and students in the North West.

With the Gorton and Denton by-election tomorrow (26 February), the eyes of the nation are trained on parties in the running, their manifestos, and which one will make the most positive change for the area.

Despite fearmongering and name calling from all sides, Labour and the Green Party are emerging as the most favoured among the public, with Reform UK trailing close behind, according to the polls. 

With voters making their decision tomorrow, the Young Labour party and students from the University of Manchester held a hustings on Tuesday to advocate for Labour’s Angeliki Stogia.

It comes after Levenshulme saw a cross-party hustings last week when all candidates shared their views.

Councillor Charlotte Bond, 23, one of the youngest people in the North West to be elected in a by-election in Warrington last year, touched on how she wants to represent student voices at a national level, as Young Labour admits the voices of students and young people are often not listened to enough.

Alongside her political career, Charlotte also works as a secondary school teaching assistant for students with special educational needs.

She said: “We have economical policies and a vision for the future of the town. This is a government that does have its issues, but it’s still full of working people – I first-hand can see the effect of free school meals and free breakfast clubs.

“I’m vice-chair of housing on my council, so I can see how we have implemented the Renters Rights Bill,” she added.

“Some people in our town who live in the most precarious positions have improved because the quality of the housing is improving, their finances are improving, because they have stability. They don’t have to worry about being evicted. That’s why we deserve to keep that seat, so we can keep delivering.” 

Emily Moore, who’s running for chair for the Young Labour party quoted Angeliki Stogia: “Some are born here, some are drawn here, but we all call it home.” 

She said: “Gorton and Denton are the soul of our city. We [Labour] are honest in the actions we are trying to take, if you judge us on the record for what we have done for young people, in terms of employment rights or renters rights, you can see that we’ve made a difference.

“Labour strives for unity over division within its party, which is needed right now.”

Vincent Conquest, running for Secretary for Labour Students, agreed. “Angeliki is a great candidate,” he said. “If anyone’s going to win this really hard by-election under these difficult circumstances, it will probably be her.”

‘Free school meals and minimum wage increased’

Vincent also said: “We have had a really positive campaign as well. We have brought into force the Modern Rights Bill, the Renters Rights Bill, we increased the minimum wage, expanded free school meals, and I know Angeliki has done that and I’m praying that there’s going to be a positive result.

“I think Labour deserve to win.”

With over 1,000 volunteers looking to help Labour in tomorrow’s by-elections, the party is not short of open support.

The by-election results will be released on Friday.