Posts Tagged ‘Mike Kane’

Kane makes local connections count as he cruises to victory

25/01/2014, 09:36:31 AM

Mike Kane will be Labour’s candidate for the Wythenshawe and Sale East by-election on 13 February, cause by the sad death of former Labour minister, Paul Goggins, earlier this month.

A hustings meeting at Wythenshawe Forum Hall last night saw Kane sweep to victory, winning on the first ballot with around two-thirds of the votes cast. Manchester City Councillor, Rosa Battle, was runner up.

Kane, 45, was the favourite and played on his deep roots in the local area and his ability to see off a strong challenge from UKIP.

Born in Wythenshawe hospital, he grew up in the constituency and taught at a local primary school for a decade, before going on to work as a parliamentary assistant to Labour MPs James Purnell and Jonathan Reynolds.

He is currently acting chief executive of Movement for Change, the grassroots campaigning organisation allied to the party and has led on efforts to promote the living wage and against payday lenders.

UKIP is expected to press hard for second place. Its candidate, local IT entrepreneur John Bickley, grew up in Wythenshawe and comes from a staunch Labour family.

However, with just three weeks to go until polling day, it’s unlikely they have the time to seriously eat into the 7,575 Labour majority.

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Speedy by-election planned to keep UKIP at bay

20/01/2014, 08:12:31 AM

If you’re reading this after 10am today and were hoping to stand for the Labour nomination for the Wythenshawe and Sale East by-election, caused by the tragic death of Paul Goggins, then hard lines.

This is the deadline imposed by the party as it moves swiftly to get a candidate in place before a by-election is called, probably for February 13. A panel of the National Executive Committee meets this Wednesday to whittle down applications before a hustings meeting in Wythenshawe on Friday night.

With some bookies quoting UKIP’s chances of winning the seat as 4-1, Labour is taking no chances. It needs to stop Nigel Farage gaining traction on the ground while ensuring it gets fickle Labour voters to turn out in what is predicted to be a cold February.

The Manchester Central by-election in November 2012 achieved the ignominy of managing lowest turnout in a parliamentary by-election since World War Two with just 18 per cent voting. Lucy Powell, the winner of that by-election, is set to manage the party’s campaign.

The Wythenshawe part of the seat is classic inner-city Manchester, containing five of the eight wards that make up the constituency. The remaining three sit in the neighbouring – and decidedly more affluent – borough of Trafford.

The seat contains the Benchill area, which was once assessed to be the most deprived in Europe and the scene of an infamous David Cameron walkabout where a youth made gun gestures at him.

Uncut hears that the battle for the Labour nomination is likely to be a two-horse race between Manchester councillor Rosa Battle and chief executive of Movement for Change, Mike Kane.

Both have local credentials, with Battle, Manchester’s executive member for culture and leisure, finishing third in the selection process for the Manchester Central nomination.

Mike Kane was born and raised in Wythenshawe and formerly worked as a teacher and as a parliamentary aide to James Purnell and Jonathan Reynolds.

Local sources predict Kane should edge it, with one party member praising his “great back story as a local lad,” while his community organising skills should come in handy pressing the flesh this week.

However there is expected to be no shortage of potential candidates to keep the NEC panel busy. Cheshire councillor Steve Carter, a former parliamentary candidate for Macclesfield is another hopeful.

Paul Goggins had a majority of 7,575 at the 2010 General Election.

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