Green party announce new candidate for Makerfield byelection

Sarah Wakefield, Manchester city councillor, to stand for party after initial candidate withdrew

The Green party has announced Sarah Wakefield as its new candidate in the Makerfield byelection , after the previous candidate withdrew from the race.

Wakefield, a councillor on Manchester city council, will stand for the party, saying she was proud to represent the Greens.

Senior Green party figures are divided over how much energy and resources should put into the race – despite their recent win in Gorton and Denton – because Labour’s Andy Burnham is fighting a difficult challenge from Reform UK.

Wakefield said she was proud to represent the Greens. She said: “It is vital in a democracy that voters are given a choice of who they want to vote for.

“Together we can bring back the hope that politics can create a better life for ourselves and our children. This is what the Green party represents.

“We showed in Gorton and Denton we can take on and beat Reform, whose backward-looking and divisive politics needs to be challenged head-on with a message that the future can be better and fairer than the failed status quo. Don’t vote in anger, vote in hope.”

Wakefield, 38, is a charity director who is on maternity leave and has two young children. A councillor for Deansgate in central Manchester, she previously worked in retail with a focus on sustainable food and is a trustee of a community organisation, the party said.

The Greens were forced to re-select their candidate after their previous candidate, Chris Kennedy, withdrew from the race, citing family issues .

The Times reported that Kennedy had posted conspiracy theories on social media about the attack on Jewish community ambulances, suggesting it was a “false flag”.

The party said Kennedy had apologised for the offence caused and that the posts did not reflect the views of the party.

In February’s Gorton and Denton byelection , the Greens overcame a 13,000-plus Labour majority to defeat Reform and push Labour into third place – though senior party figures concede they face a much tougher electoral picture in an area like Makerfield.

Caroline Lucas, the former Green MP who was the party’s first MP, has led calls for the party not to impede a return to Westminster for Burnham, who is likely to seek to enter No 10 to replace Keir Starmer.

Lucas said on social media: “There are times when it’s more important to put country before party. This is one of them. Burnham’s longstanding commitment to a fairer voting system could transform our democracy and counter the dire threat of a Reform UK government.”

But Jenny Jones, a veteran Green activist who is one of the party’s two members of the Lords, has argued the party should fight to win the seat. She said: “We are a political party that owes it to voters to give them the chance to vote Green. Plus, this is a mess of Labour’s own making. They are playing games. We are looking to replace them.”