'Working class and middle class both feel neglected': The 'perfect storm' that weakened Labour's grip on Ancoats and Beswick

06.03.2022 - 11:37 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

The tension in the room was rising as the votes were being counted.

Neither side was confident at the start of the night, but as the piles of ballot papers started stacking up, the smiles on some faces slowly disappeared.

The Tories and Greens had already ruled themselves out of the race, having hardly campaigned – this was a battle between Labour and the Lib Dems.

READ MORE: Labour lose seat to Lib Dems in Manchester by-election after councillor quit blaming 'toxic culture'

Not since the Commonwealth games were hosted in Manchester had the Lib Dems won in Ancoats, Beswick or Bradford – typically safe Labour territory.

But by midnight, members of the ruling Labour group were leaving Central Library with one councillor fewer following an unexpected by-election defeat.

Well, not exactly.

Marcia Hutchinson, who had served as a Labour councillor in Ancoats and Beswick for six months, quit last year, blaming 'racist bullying' in the party.

Standing down the day before Sir Richard Leese resigned as council leader - a role he held for a quarter of a century - she said she had had enough of being 'treated differently' by the group as one of the only black councillors in the city.

And the controversy continued even after she stood down with accusations that the local Labour branch had 'gerrymandered' the process to select a candidate to replace her, resulting in some black members being 'excluded'.

Labour denies all of the allegations Marcia made and party sources claim 'all the rules were followed' in the selection process without any irregularities.

But some say serious damage had been done, contributing to Labour's inability to hold Marcia's old seat in the by-election her departure triggered.

Marcia, who has now quit