General election: Labour completes a Wigan borough clean sweep of seats

The man who walked out of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership team amid the controversy over Labour antisemitism landed one of Labour’s safest seats: Makerfield.

Josh Simons, 30, is the heavyweight academic who has taken the mantle left by Yvonne Fovargue who opted not to stand for re-election to the seat.

However, as with the neighbouring Wigan constituency, Mr Simons closest rival was a Reform UK candidate. Robert Kenyon polled 12,803, only 5,399 behind Mr Simons with 18,202.

Mr Kenyon said: “To be where we’ve come from to where we are now is an enormous achievement. Although Labour have won, I don’t they have done as well as they could have.”

Meanwhile, Cambridge politics first graduate Mr Simons – regarded by political pundits as one of Sir Keir’s “Starmtroopers” – could be destined for high office in the administration after securing a seat which has been Labour since 1906.

It wasn’t an easy campaign for the father-of-two with “false” rumours circulating on social media that he was from Kent. In fact, his Jewish father is from Prestwich and Whitefield and he and his family made their home in Rawtenstall and Ramsbottom after a period studying at Harvard in the US.

But in the end it was a night of celebration for Mr Simons, who after the cheering from Labour activists had died down, said: “To all the councillors and activists I have met over the last few weeks, I say I cannot wait to work with you.

“Tonight, a small crack of light has begun to appear in a long dark night – hope. By morning when dawn breaks the United Kingdom will once again have what we deserve – a government that takes governing seriously.

“Keir Starmer changed the Labour Party. The British people have voted for change. Now, supported by me and my colleagues, Keir Starmer can change Britain. The responsibility each of us carries is immense.”

He told how on Wednesday he had met a woman with a Reform UK poster outside her house. She had voted Labour her whole life, he said.

“She was fed up with both political parties and false dawns,” he continued. “She did not feel anyone had her interests at heart. I told her who I was. We talked about politics, national and local. Before I left she said it meant the world for her to know that someone cares.

“Together we showed her something simple. We, the Labour Party, have her in our heart. But her vote has only been lent to us. It will stay with us only if she stays with us. So that is what I intend to do.

“I will ensure the Labour government delivers for delivers for her and for working people and for Makerfield.”

Labour's Lisa Nandy delivered a stinging rebuke to the political right she defeated saying: “take this result as your marching orders”.

She was returned comfortably to the Wigan seat she has held since 2010 with 19,401 votes, but the Reform UK candidate, Andy Dawber polled in second place with 9,852 votes. For the Conservatives, it was a dismal night with candidate Henry Mitson getting 4,310 votes.

Following the announcement of the result, she raged from the podium: “I want to say to those people who’ve brought their nasty, hateful, racist politics to our town, the history of Wigan is of working-class people who for 100 years have driven you and your hate out of our town over and over again.

“So take this result tonight as your marching orders. We are a better town than you. You are not welcome here. You can take your nasty divisive rhetoric elsewhere because we’ve got a job to do.”

Ms Nandy recalled that five years ago she stood on the stage and made a solemn promise that she would fight with every breath in her body to bring Labour home.

“It’s people in Wigan and towns like ours who have built our party and our movement and remade government over 100 years that changed people’s lives,” she said.

“It’s humbling to stand here five years on, to have changed the Labour and put it back into the service of working-class people and to feel the trust return. To those of you who didn’t feel they could trust us this time, I say to you that for 14 years the people of Wigan have had my back and I will always have yours and I will never stop fighting for you.”

She added: “If we build back the country it will only be because of the extraordinary people in Wigan and across the country.

“With Keir Starmer as leader we will have a team that can do this. It’s been the privilege of my life to represent Wigan for 14 years. Thank you for trusting me again. I will never ever let you down.”

And Labour won back the seat which was emblematic of the party’s downfall back in 2019, repainting Leigh and Atherton red once more in 2024.

The seat – slightly expanded from just Leigh when the constituency boundaries redrawn recently – was taken by Labour’s Jo Platt. The incoming MP previously took over the seat from Andy Burnham who stepped down to become Greater Manchester mayor in 2017, before losing the seat back in 2019 to Conservative James Grundy in one of the most dramatic turns of the previous general election.

That December night, Leigh turned blue for the first time ever, after being staunchly Labour for 97 years, from 1922 onwards. Brexit and Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership cast a long shadow in the constituency, with many on the ground saying that was one of the single reasons why the constituency was claimed by the Tories.

Brexit still looms large on the doorstep, according to Labour sources, with the area’s strong leave vote continuing to play some role in residents’ decisions at the ballot box. But the early hours of the morning in 2024’s election saw a red dawn once again.

In 2019, Jo Platt called election night “traumatic”, as her loss sent shockwaves through the Labour Party – with even the then-incoming MP James Grundy saying the switchover was down to the Corbyn leadership.

That night, he said: “This shouldn’t be considered a fault on [Jo’s] behalf,” he said.

“Ninety-nine times out of a hundred Jo would’ve carried Leigh. On this occasion it was not to be because of anger over Brexit and anger at Jeremy Corbyn.

“Let us be clear - it’s his fault that Jo lost.”

Today, in 2024, Ms Platt recognised that loss by saying that the party she now stands for is a “changed” party. During her victory seat, she said: “We ran this election as a changed Labour Party. Thank you for putting your trust in us to change the country…

“Losing this seat in 2019 was deeply painful, not just for me personally, but for those who desperately need a Labour government. It was a moment of reflection and realisation for us all.

“Over the last four years, under this Conservative government, things have got worse. The Labour Party has listened to our concerns, learned from past mistakes, and developed policies that speak directly to towns like ours.

“The people of this constituency deserve a government that has their back, supports their aspirations, and enables grassroots regeneration. Labour is ready to be that government, building on the pride and potential of our towns.”

RESULTS

Wigan:

Lisa Nandy (Labour) 19,401

Andy Dawber (Reform) 9,852

Henry Mitson (Conservative) 4,310

Maureen O’Bern (Independent) 3,522

Brian Crombie-Fisher (Liberal Democract) 1,692

Jane Leicester (Green) 1,629

Jan Cunliffe (Independent) 406

The Zok (Independent) 87

Labour majority 9,549

Turn-out 52.7 per cent

Makerfield:

Josh Simons (Labour) 18,202

Robert Kenyon (Reform) 12,803

Simon Finkelstein (Conservative) 4,379

John Skipworth (Liberal Democrat) 2,735

Maria Deery (Green) 1,776

Thomas Bryer (English Democrats) 368

Labour majority 5,399

Turn-out 52.4 per cent

Leigh:

Jo Platt (Labour) 19,971

George Woodward (Reform) 11,090

Michael Winstanley (Conservative) 6,483

Amelia Jones (Green) 1,653

Stuart Thomas (Liberal-Democrat) 1,597

Craig Buckley (English Democrats) 376

Labour majority 8,881

Turn-out 51.6 per cent