Andy Burnham has been out campaigning with Angeliki Stogia, Labour’s candidate for the Gorton & Denton by-election.
Despite having been blocked from running in the seat himself, Burnham was out giving his full backing to Stogia over the weekend.
The Greater Manchester mayor was blocked from running as Labour’s candidate in the local constituency, with the party instead opting for Stogia.
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On Sunday, Burnham was pictured side-by-side with Stogia and Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell as the party ramped up their campaigning.
Whilst the Greens and Reform are the apparent front-runners in the by-election, scheduled to take place on February 26, Labour are eager to frame themselves as the only ones who can stop Reform from winning the seat.
In a post on X sharing pictures of Burnham and Stogia, Powell wrote: “Great to have Andy Burnham out today giving his full backing to our brilliant candidate Angeliki Stogia for Gorton and Denton.
“Andy was clear – we are united against the division of Reform. He wants people to vote Labour to keep them out of Manchester.”
Labour North West shared a video on social media of Burnham and Stogia campaigning together and knocking on doors in the constituency.
Burnham said: “Greater Manchester has been built on partnership, people working together and a politics that seeks to pit one against the other basically threatens everything we’ve achieved in Greater Manchester.”
He told Stogia he was “delighted” for her and would be “supporting you all the way.”
So far though, the decision to block Burnham from running in the Greater Manchester seat seems to have benefitted Reform and the Greens.
Following the decision from the Workers Party not to run in the vote, the Greens have emerged as odds-on to win the vote with their candidate Hannah Spencer.