Gorton & Denton by-election thread

[fromorbit]

This dramatic byelection to be held on Thursday 26 February 2026 is looking likely to have a confrontation over sex and gender with the Conservative's just announced candidate Charlotte Cadden being a trustee for Sex Matters. Another factor is with a large Muslim population in the area the group Muslim Vote has endorsed the Green candidate despite one of their aims to be remove teaching about LGBT issues from schools when religious parents object. Obviously in conflict with Green policy.

Candidates

• Angeliki Stogia will be the Labour candidate in this year's election. Ms Stogia moved to the UK from Greece in the 1990s and has served as a councillor in Whalley Range since 2004.
• Reform UK have selected GB News presenter Matt Goodwin as their candidate. He studied at the University of Salford and went on to have a career as a commentator and academic.
• The Liberal Democrats have selected local campaigner Jackie Pearcey as their candidate. She lives in the constituency and previously won 2,600 votes at the 2017 elections.
• The Green Party have put forward Hannah Spencer to stand for them at the by-election. She is a plumber by trade she is from Bolton and has lived in Greater Manchester all her life, and is based in Hale where she is a councilor. She doesn't believe biology is important in deciding gender.
• The Conservative Party have chosen former detective chief inspector Charlotte Cadden as their candidate. She served for 30 years in GMP and London's Met.
• The Re-join EU Party have announced that Joseph O'Meachair will be their candidate. He is a member of the party's executive committee and lives in the North West.

Sebastian Moore (Social Democratic Party)
The Social Democratic Party announced on Friday 30 January that the current SDP North West Chair Sebastian Moore will be running as their candidate in the by-election.

Nicholas Brendan Buckley Advance UK

He is a British charity worker and political figure who previously represented Reform UK.

Dan Clarke is the Libertarian Party candidate

Sir Oink A-Lot
Sir Oink A-Lot is The Official Monster Raving Loony Party candidate

https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/parl.gorton-and-denton.by.2026-02-26/gorton-and-denton/

The just announced Conservative candidate has serious form:
Former detective chief inspector Charlotte Cadden is a lesbian served for 30 years as a Police Officer, both for Greater Manchester Police and the Metropolitan Police - Charlotte is a trustee of the charity Sex Matters, a member of the LGB Alliance Business Forum. She coordinates the Women’s Rights Network in Greater Manchester, In 2023, she set up the national Police SEEN.

Galloway's Worker's Party have now decided not to stand. They may have attracted a bunch of Muslim votes which will now go elsewhere.

Any hustings are going to be rather interesting.

Luckily, we are not discussing whether or not there is a rule

I disagree strongly that 1984 in any case has not 'centred' or prioritised women.

We're still waiting for examples beyond asking people to ignore a derailing TRA which lots of women do too.

I disagree strongly that 1984 in any case has not 'centred' or prioritised women.

I don't know who is making this argument. It's not me

Your discussing that somehow male posters need to back off in some unspecified way because it's a female space.

That's never been true. There have always been men that post in every part of MN.

Men can post or they can't. Barring trolls and fakers, they don't have to say things any particular poster approves of.

1984 hasn't said anything all that differernt than lots of women have. All this kind of approach leads to is people accusing posters of being men when they don't like the posters style, more than one female poster here has experienced that.

Its a strawman.

I mean Jeeze, if the complaint is being bossy, Boots spent the lead up to the election along with AdamRyan telling everyone here they were beyond the pale and not real feminists if they thought of voting for the Tories. Maybe that's her real objection here.

'Bossy'?

I am not saying men need to do anything. I simply pointed out some of the situations in which 1984's posts had annoyed me, and 1984, to his credit agreed with me.

What I am finding much more interesting is watching the ways in which posters are centring the man/men over women.

Me too.

Worth noting responses to women being perceived as objectionable, by advocating for woman centred space.

'Bigoted'
'Extremist'
'Bossy'
'Bad behaviour'

I may have missed some.

This is misogyny in action. The interesting thing is we often dont even notice it.

Exactly mirrors what happens in so many situations.

Laws and rules are all very well and they matter, but if we don't look more deeply into how male.supremacy is enacted in day to day life, it will never really change.

'bullying'
'unpleasant'
'rudeness'

Feminism effectively requires pushing against the stream or grain. Thats what equity is all about. Otherwise its 'might is right'.

I'm sorry about punctation, btw, my phone has lost autocorrect.

Laws and rules are all very well and they matter, but if we don't look more deeply into how male.supremacy is enacted in day to day life, it will never really change.

This is it, folks. Stand back and re-read the last few pages. You are, unwittingly, complicit. We all are. This is what we need to change.

Bossy was a characterisation of the complaint against 1984, not you or anyone else.

Do you really think than no one can disagree with you for any other reason than issues around sex? The only reason this issue is around that is because the complaint about 1984 was characterised as being about his sex.

There are plenty of annoying posters. Most are women, because most posters here are women. They are not annoying because they are women.

'Bossy was a characterisation of the complaint against 1984, not you or anyone else.'

Indeed. Have you ever heard this term used to apply to a man? Or an argument made by a man?

I am not sure why you think it is ok to essentially characterise anyone who disagrees with you on this as a kind of collaborator. Because that is what you are doing here.

It's not just that they think a poster was unfairly being needled for no good reason, apparently, it means they are somehow complicit in male supremacy.

Really - you have Boots there putting the boot in in the exact way she does to everyone, justified as being some kind of feminist act, and it's now some kind of take down of male entitlement in everyday life. And even pointing that it seems like a bit of a pile on is a product of misogyny.

Fuck that.

Yes, of course I have.

But it isn't relevant.

Here is a look at some data.

https://linguisticpulse.com/2014/03/28/no-really-bossy-is-gendered/

Can I suggest depersonalising this a bit?

We all collude in social interactions and are subject to prejudices and behaviour that supports certain dynamics.

It's not about making accusations or winning an argument.

Looking for insight into power and dynamics is always an ongoing process, and yes often emotional responses are involved - that can also be useful information.

i haven’t read the whole thread and it looks like it has gone off course anyway. However on the original, although I am not living in the by election wards I am in Manchester. It is basically between reform and green. Gorton’s population used to be white working class until 10 years ago or so. There is now a large demographic of Afro Caribbean heritage and a much larger demographic of Muslims. The Gaza/palestine issue wouks definitely trump the lgbt one for most of that cohort. The Denton side is white, working class and it is reform all the way. Labour will be demolished and can’t see conservatives doing well either. Parts of Burnage is also taken in. Burnage is a mix of white working class and Muslim. Has a huge council estate and the private housing is more affordable than most of Manchester although still more expensive than lots of the country. I couldn’t be quite as confident about what that area would vote. It borders on more bougie, left leaning areas and the leader of the practically all
labour council lives there. So idk. Hope that is of use to the original subject.

Instinctively, I think Reform will win it from what I am seeing but who knows. Despite his shoddy behaviour the previous MP was quite well liked but as an individual, the party (Labour) is just seen has too far gone now.

Very interesting to get a local view

It absolutely isn't "all there is to it".

Women must be free to demand that their boundaries are respected.

This is the FWR board. Women need to be supporting other women on here in particular.

Accepting men's opinions simply because they're men (and are allowed to post anywhere on MN) doesn't centre women at all.

Have you ever heard this term (bossy) used to apply to a man? Or an argument made by a man?

Absolutely not. "Bossy" is a word applied exclusively to women.
And not in a good way.

Yes, of course I have

Well, I'm surprised. I never have.

Mansplaining, NAMALTing and self ID'ing as ND.

Huh? What does this thread have to do with my opposition to the Tory Party in the 2024 GE?