Makerfield 2024 general election results in full

The man who quit Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership team has landed one of Labour’s safest seats – Makerfield. Josh Simons, 30, is the academic heavyweight who has taken up the mantle left by Yvonne Fovarque, who opted not to stand for re-election in the seat which covers much of the Wigan borough.

However, similar to the neighboring constituency of Wigan, Mr Simons’ closest rival was a UK Reform candidate. Robert Kenyon polled 12,803, just 5,399 behind Simons with 18,202.

Mr Kenyon said: “To come from where we have come to where we are now is a huge achievement. Although Labor won, I think they didn’t do as well as they could have.”

READ MORE: LIVE – General Election 2024 results and updates in Greater Manchester and the UK

Meanwhile, first Cambridge politics graduate Mr Simons – regarded by political pundits as one of Sir Keir’s ‘Stormtroopers’ – could be earmarked for senior government jobs after securing a Labor seat since 1906.

It has not been an easy campaign for the father-of-two with ‘false’ rumors circulating on social media that he is from Kent. In fact, his father is from Prestwich and Whitefield and he and his family made their home in Rawtenstall and Ramsbottom after a spell at Harvard in the US.

In the end, it was a night of celebration for Mr Simons, who, after the cheers from Labor campaigners had died down, said: “To all the councilors and campaigners I’ve met over the last few weeks, I say I can’t wait to work. With you.

“Tonight, a small sliver of light began to appear in a long dark night – hope. By the time dawn breaks, the UK will once again have what we deserve – a government that takes governance seriously.

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

He said he came across a woman with a Reform UK poster outside her house yesterday. She voted Labor all her life, he said.

“He is tired of both political parties and false dawns,” he continued. “She didn’t feel like anyone had her best interests at heart. I told him who I was. We talked about politics, national and local. Before I left, she told me that it meant the world to her to know that someone cared.

“Together we showed him something simple. We, the Labor Party, have it in our hearts. But her vote was only lent to us. She will only stay with us if she stays with us. So that’s what I plan to do.

“I will make sure that the Labor government delivers for her and the people who work for Makerfield as well.”