After a disappointing Thursday night – and following the resignation of leader Ed Miliband earlier in the day – Friday afternoon at last provided some better news for Labour Party members.
Split across two venues votes were counted for 22 out of 32 electoral wards at the Velodrome, granting a welcomed success for Labour.
Manchester City Council’s Deputy Leader, Bernard Priest, held his Ardwick seat with 3857 votes, followed by Green’s 546.
There was also an overwhelming win for Labour’s Kate Chappell for Rusholme, who dazzled in a red dress this afternoon and said the campaign had been ‘brilliant’.
She said: “Seeing people walking up smiling, saying they were going to vote for us, and seeing so many friendly faces and people who you know that you have helped – that’s meant a lot to me this time.”
There was no close second place after Ms Chappell received 3796 votes followed by the Green Party with a weak 848.
During her winner’s speech she thanked MP for Gorton, Sir Gerald Kaufman for his support, calling him a ‘complete hero’.
She added: “His support has been in Rusholme, and all the other wards in Gorton were incredibly lucky to have him.”
Mick Loughman retained his seat for Ancoats and Clayton after he received 3534 votes with a 48.9% voter turnout. The Green Party came in second with 866.
Mr Loughman, chairman for Manchester City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee, expressed his gratitude to his team and ward throughout his campaign.
He said: “I’d like to thank the team that helped me – the Labour team, the councillors, and the other activists that helped on the street knocking on doors – so that people know those who represent them around here are Labour people.”
Basking in success over his first time win, Basat Mahmood Sheikh for Levenshulme said to one of his colleagues while the counts were being verified: “I have certainly proved myself”.
Mr Sheikh received 3194 votes with Lib Dem candidate John Patrick Commons in second place with 1298, only eight votes ahead of the Green Party.
John Hughes also retained his seat for Gorton North after getting 3851 votes, second place to the Conservatives as Luke Dyks received 591.
Mr Hughes said: “I’d really like to thank the residents and voters from Gorton North who have once again entrusted me with their votes and given me a chance to represent them for another few years.”
The other side of Gorton also had a triumphant success, victor Peter Cookson said it was a ‘record breaking result’ after finding out he had 4564 votes.
UKIP failed to provide competition for Mr Cookson, with an uninspiring 966 votes for second place.
At the end of his winner’s speech, he added: “It’s an unbelievable result in the history of this seat.”
There were many other wards that had clear Labour wins, proving that Manchester hasn’t lost its loyalties for the working man’s party.
