Angeliki Stogia’s appointment was confirmed today
21:16, 31 Jan 2026Updated 21:17, 31 Jan 2026
Andy Burnham(Image: PA)
Andy Burnham has sent a message to the new Labour candidate who will stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election to be held next month.
The upheaval was triggered by the resignation of Andrew Gwynne last Thursday (January 22), who had been MP for the area since 2005 but faced heavy criticism since WhatsApp messages he sent were made public last February. Mr Gwynne cited ill health as the reason for his resignation.
Following months of rumours about a possible return to Parliament, Andy Burnham confirmed on January 24 that he had applied to stand as Labour’s candidate for the election on February 26.
But these plans were abruptly scuppered, as the following day Labour’s National Executive Committee voted to block him from doing so.
The mayor expressed his disappointment on social media, but said he remained ‘fully focused’ on his role as mayor and pledged to support the next Labour candidate.
And today (January 31) he has made good on his promise, as Burnham took to X to congratulate Angeliki Stogia, whose candidature was announced outside the Jain Community Centre in Longsight this afternoon.
“Big congrats Angeliki!” he wrote on X. “I know you will do a great job.
“I will be there for you whenever you need me.”
Ms Stogia is originally from Greece but moved to Britain in the 1990s to study at Manchester Metropolitan University and later became a naturalised citizen.
She has lived in Whalley Range since 2004 and has represented the ward for Labour since 2012.
In a brief address to the crowd, Ms Stogia said: “I am absolutely thrilled and excited, and I want to thank everyone who came to the hustings. I am a proud Mancunian woman. I have walked the streets of this constituency.
Angeliki Stogia(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
“This is about Manchester. Manchester is a city united, we are rejecting division. I am so looking forward to going out on the doorstep and winning this for Labour.”
Speaking to the M.E.N afterwards, she said: “It’s very, very important to protect the division. We are a city, united and every vote in this election counts so we’re going to go out and we’re going to hear from the residents and get them all out.
“We are all united. You can see the energy today. We are going to win this.”
The Green Party, Liberal Democrats and Reform have all announced who will stand to be MP in Gorton and Denton. Read the full list of confirmed candidates here.