The Labour MP Graham Stringer successfully defended his position as representative in the House of Commons for Blackley and Broughton, though saw his share in the votes drop by nearly ten%.
Stringer received 23,887 of the votes, while his nearest competitor was the Conservative’s Alexander Elias, with 9,485.
He told MM: “It’s a successful night for the Labour Party in Manchester, it has been a dreadful night for the Labour Party nationally.”
Stringer, in his victory speech, made his awareness of the challenges facing the Labour Party explicitly clear to those listening.
“The Labour Party was found and has worked for the 120 years since its existence to fight discrimination.
“And I think we have failed as a party, nationally, to deal with the accusations of anti-Semitism there have been in the Labour party.
“So I pledge myself over the next four and a half years to making the Labour party more effective with dealing with those accusations.
“Justice delayed is justice denied.”
However, Stringer also stressed that patience is crucial for his party moving forward, and that any rash decisions would be ill-advised.
“Jeremy Corbyn has said he’s not going to fight the next election. I think we need a really serious analysis, a reflection, of what’s gone wrong.
“The Labour Party nationally can probably learn something from how the Labour Party organises in Manchester.
“But there mustn’t be a knee-jerk reaction. I hope personally, that Jeremy will stay on for the next six to nine months to oversee that, and we don’t end up moving immediately with somebody leading the labour Party who was not elected to that position.”
Additionally, the emphatic defeat inflicted upon Labour by the Conservatives is not a one-issue problem, but multi-faceted – something that Labour must address.
He said: “There’s not one reason the Labour Party lost. There are many reasons. Brexit was an issue.
“Leadership was an issue, the credibility of some of our policies, many of which were excellent, was an issue. But there’s probably also an issue of trust and understanding of those policies.
“We need to make sure we reconnect with the electorate, because there’s no doubt this country, and many of the poorer people in this country, will suffer and be poorer because the Labour party is not in government over the next four years.”
Despite request, Elias refused to comment on his loss in the election.
It was a disappointing turnout for Blackley and Broughton this year, with a meagre 52.6% making it out to the election.
