Labour hold council seat after by-election

Labour have retained a council seat after a closely watched by-election that was expected to be a tight race with the Green Party.

Carl Austin-Behan was elected for Burnage in south Manchester with 1,365 votes, ahead of Green candidate Daoud Nawaz on 1,037.

The vote was triggered when former Manchester council leader Bev Craig stepped down as a councillor after being elected Greater Manchester mayor in July.

Austin-Behan said he was "honoured" residents had put their trust in him again after representing the ward previously from 2011 to 2018.

He said his priorities would be restoring the 169 bus service, along with tackling speeding on Kingsway, reducing fly-tipping and improving activities for young people in the area.

Labour's victory had been far from certain after the party lost a Burnage seat in May's local elections, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Austin-Behan said the political landscape had changed since then and argued voters were beginning to regain confidence in Labour.

"We were in a different place in May," he said. "I think people are getting faith back in Labour."

Manchester City Council leader Garry Bridges said a "Burnham bounce" had played a role in the result, adding that Labour supporters who had turned away from the party earlier in the year were now returning.

"This is a really big moment for Labour in Manchester," he said. "This sends a really powerful message that people who were thinking about not voting Labour and looking elsewhere are coming back to the party and supporting us again."

Reacting to the result on social media, Greater Manchester mayor Bev Craig said she was "absolutely over the moon" to see her former ward colleague elected.

She said she could think of no-one better to take over and continue working to improve the area.

The Workers Party of Britain finished third with 466 votes, followed by Reform UK on 315. The Liberal Democrats received 31 votes and the Conservatives 27.

A total of 3,254 votes were cast, giving a turnout of 23.55%.

The result leaves Labour in control of Manchester City Council with 64 seats. The Greens hold 21 seats, Reform UK has seven councillors and the Liberal Democrats have four.

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