Eamonn O'Brien confirmed as one of the final two Labour candidates in the Gorton and Denton by-election

Wednesday, 28 January 2026 16:03

By Adam Clark / Charlotte Hall, Local Democracy Reporter

Credit: David Murphy / Roch Valley Radio

Eamonn O’Brien, the leader of Bury Council, has been confirmed as one of the final two Labour candidates seeking selection for the Gorton and Denton by-election.

Whalley Range councillor Angeliki Stogia is the other remaining contender to run for MP Andrew Gwynne’s seat in the February poll.

The shortlist was confirmed by deputy Labour leader and Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell as she visited Gorton to unveil the party’s campaign van.

Speaking outside the Gorton community hub, Powell told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:

“We’ve got two great candidates on our shortlist. We’re already getting Labour members to support them on Saturday. Both the candidates on the shortlist are Mancunians, they’re of our area, they understand the politics that we’re about here, which is welcoming, tolerant, and about delivering change.

“We’re all coming together as a Labour family to see how we can defeat this politics of hate, who’s best placed to do that? That applies to both Angeliki and Eamonn.”

The shortlist was whittled down from a candidates list of five, which also included Manchester councillors Rabnawaz Akbar, Abid Latif Chohan and Julie Reid.

The longlist was leaked to the press after Labour’s National Executive Committee blocked Andy Burnham’s bid to stand in the Parliamentary by-election, triggered by Andrew Gwynne’s resignation last Thursday, 11 months after the ‘Trigger Me Timbers’ WhatsApp group scandal.

Both candidates will go head-to-head in a hustings scheduled for this Saturday, with the winner set to stand at the upcoming vote on February 26th.

Candidates officially confirmed from other parties include Reform’s Matt Goodwin and the worker’s party’s Shahbaz Sarwar.