Sarah Wakefield has been announced as the Green candidate for the Makerfield byelection. The constituency spans Greater Manchester and Wigan, where Reform surged in the latest local elections by winning 24 of 25 seats. The contest is framed as a test of Labour’s position under Andy Burnham against the national threat posed by Reform UK. Labour members and some figures have promoted the slogan that voting Green would mean voting for Reform. Senior Green figures, activists, and academics have urged a scaled-back Green campaign in exchange for a future promise of electoral reform, and Caroline Lucas has made a similar call. Labour MP Rupa Huq and Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell have cited past instances where Greens stepped aside, arguing that Green participation would allow Reform to win. The Greens’ Hannah Spencer won the Gorton and Denton byelection convincingly, with Labour pushed into third behind Reform.
"The Green party of England and Wales has announced Sarah Wakefield as its candidate for the upcoming Makerfield byelection. The constituency is split between Greater Manchester and Wigan, and the latter's council saw a surge in support for Reform in the latest local elections, with the party taking 24 of the 25 seats up for grabs. The showdown between Labour's Andy Burnham, the Greens, Conservatives and Reform UK will be seen as a test case for how Labour would fare under Burnham as leader against the national threat of Reform UK in the next election."
"It is within this context that there has been internal discussion in the Green party about it stepping aside in the seat so that it does not split the progressive vote and, in so doing, allow Reform to win the seat. A vote for the Greens in Makerfield is a vote for Reform is a common slogan being shared by Labour party members. Sarah Wakefield, the Green candidate for Makerfield. Photograph: Manchester Green party"
"At the weekend, senior Green figures, activists and academics released a statement urging the party to run a scaled-back campaign in return for the promise of electoral reform at some point in the future. The former party leader Caroline Lucas has also called for the Greens to step aside on the same grounds. The calls weren't just from Green politicians, though. The Labour MP Rupa Huq added her voice to the fray by claiming that, in 2017, the Greens stepped aside to allow her a clear run at her seat in Ealing Central and Acton."
"Back in the pivotal Gorton and Denton byelection in February, Labour's deputy leader, Lucy Powell, published public letters urging the Greens to step aside, claiming their presence would let Reform in by the back door. The Greens' Hannah Spencer ended up winning convincingly, with the Labour party pushed into third place behind Reform. The thing with these calls to step aside is that they misunderstand the new role and position of the Green party in British politics, their relationship"
Read at www.theguardian.com
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