On Saturday 16th May, newly elected Green MP for Gorton and Denton Hannah Spencer moved camp with a handful of loyal followers on Danes Avenue playground in Hindley. Hindley Green ward is one of the 8 wards in the Makerfield constituency. She sent this call out for support via Instagram.
Many people in the UK, and indeed much beyond, are likely to know by now that the contest in Makerfield in the North of Enalnd is no ordinary byelection. It is about a potential new and left-leaning leader of the Labour Party challenging Prime Minister Kier Starmer. Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017 and Labour’s candidate Andy Burnham anti-neoliberal economics and anti-poverty strategy are closer to those of the Green Party than Starmer’s. If elected, he has pledged to scrap the First-Past-The-Post voting system.
In spite of his popularity across Greater Manchester, including in Wigan, this byelection however may be a tight race between Labour’s candidate and that of Reform UK. Since 2024, Makerfield has become a marginal seat with Labour candidate Josh Simon getting a majority of 5399. Reform UK came a close second. At the May 7th 2026 Local Elections, Reform councillors captured 6 of the 8 wards from Labour in that Constituency alone.
On Sunday 17th, former Green MP Caroline Lucas and leader of the Green Party of England and Wales advised Wigan Green Party members not to stand a candidate, famously urging Leader of her Party Zack Polanski to “put country before party “.
Burnham was finally confirmed as the local Labour Party’s candidate on Tuesday 19th May. By then, green activists had already decided that Wigan and Leigh Green Party would stand a candidate. This will have been before the selection process had commenced.
On Wednesday 20th May Wigan Green Party announced that male nurse Chris Kennedy had been selected.
On Thursday 21st at 17.29 pm, the Green Party of England and Wales confirmed his candidature.
By the time HQ issued that confirmation, Chris Kennedy had pulled out of the race “due to personal and family reasons”. It was later reported in the press that he had been de-selected because of an anti-semitic comment on social media regarding the terrorist attack of Jewish ambulances in North London.
Incredibly, given this series of damaging events and much concerns posted since on social media by hundreds of members whose views range from old school eco-socialists to the more traditional ecology wing of the party about the risks involved of standing against Burnham, we understand that nominations are still to be re-opened on Monday 25th May.
Whatever one may think of this deeply embarrassing fiasco so far, and the series of events from 17th May, the evidence points to the fact that 3 days before Wigan Green Party committee had consulted their hundreds of members on the principle of standing a candidate in the first place, got the vote to go ahead, and actually went about selecting a candidate, a group of activists and one MP were busy door knocking for a non-existent candidate in Makerfield.
This should never have happened. So why did it?
The Green Party is undergoing a major transformation because of a huge surge in membership, the Leadership team is weak and Local parties are overwhelmed. Furthermore, the Party’s legal status and its constitution are notoriously not-fit-for purpose and the Party’s instruments of governance have long ceased to be worthy of a political party.
As the 13 strong Executive seem to be incapable of keeping control of the Leadership Team and Zack Polanski’s behaviour coupled with 200000 new members, many of whom know very little about politics and the Green Party, something is almost bound to go very badly wrong sooner rather than later.
With so much national interest and media attention about this Makerfield byelection and Andy Burnham’s declared aim to challenge Prime Minister as leader of the Labour Party, what has been happening within Wigan and Leigh Green Party over the past couple of weeks demands a thorough investigation, total focus and, last but not least, an urgent, open and honest debate about the merit of standing a candidate.
As for that debate, we invite visitors to read a considered article from long serving members Dave Taylor and Mike Shaughnessy here: https://londongreenleft.blogspot.com/2026/05/only-andy-burnham-can-defeat-reform.html
Your comments are always welcome.
TheGreelightBlog@protomail.com
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