Greens launch major push for Gorton and Denton after Burnham blocked

Party ready to pour resources into byelection after ‘game-changing’ barring of Greater Manchester mayor

The Greens are set to stage an all-out fight to win the upcoming Gorton and Denton byelection, with officials in the party arguing they have a real chance of victory after Andy Burnham was barred from applying to be the Labour candidate.

The Greens came third in the seat in the general election, nearly 14,000 votes behind Andrew Gwynne, the sitting MP who stepped down last week. But they plan to flood the constituency with activists in the hope of persuading locals they are the party more likely to defeat Reform UK.