Andrew Gwynne has held his Denton and Reddish seat for Labour saying that he is glad he took leader Jeremy Corbyn up on the offer to run the Labour campaign.
As well as helping to mastermind what turned out to be a great night for Labour as campaign chief, closer to home Gwynne won his own seat with a massive 14.077 vote majority an increase of 3,566 on his 2015 general election result.
The result is also the largest majority he has had in his entire career having been a Labour MP since 2005.
Speaking after his win, Gwynne told MM: “When Jeremy Corbyn asked me to be the national election campaign coordinator, everybody thought I was mad, that I was bonkers, I’m feeling a little bit bonkers now because it’s been a bit of a bonkers evening.
“I am so glad I took him up on that offer because tonight has been truly remarkable. When Theresa May called this election 7 weeks ago, because the Conservatives were 20 plus points ahead in the polls, we were heading for meltdown and wipe-out , and I have to say it’s great standing up here with the biggest majority I’ve ever had.”
Gwynne said he felt the message of hope that the Labour party was offering the electorate had been the campaign’s biggest appeal.
As drawn broke, it became clear that the Conservatives would not be able to command a majority in the House of Commons – something many thought was a foregone conclusion just days ago.
Gwynne said: “Whatever happens tonight it has been a remarkable election we offered a vision of a Britain for the many and not the few and tonight we are seeing that the message of hope has resonated in parts of the country even Tony Blair couldn’t reach, I’m thinking of Canterbury there, and that is a wonderful achievement.
“Let’s be proud that we stood tall, we believed in our values, we believed in that vision of a better, fairer Britain and let’s make that happen in the days, the weeks and the months to come.”
Gwynne told MM a few weeks ago that he was looking forward to the campaign being over as it has been ‘exhilarating but also shattering’.
Denton and Reddish saw a turnout of 60.3% an increase of 2.2% on the 2015 general election turnout; the largest turnout increase of any Tameside constituency.
