Labour have held Stockport with a 15,000-vote majority. Navendu Mishra was re-elected in the seat he has represented since 2019, in a widely expected victory following Labour’s strong lead in the national polls.
The former trade union worker won the race for the seat with an increased majority from the last election, ahead of Lib Dem councillor Wendy Meikle and Conservative candidate Oliver Johnstone, among others including Reform UK and the Workers Party of Britain.
There was a tense mood in Stockport town hall as Mr Mishra arrived in the early hours of the morning during the vote count, with the 10pm exit poll predicting Labour would not win in the other Stockport constituencies of Cheadle and Hazel Grove.
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The prediction turned out right as Lib Dem candidates Lisa Smart and Tom Morrison won in the marginal constituencies. But Mr Mishra's win in Stockport means at least one seat in the borough will be represented by a Labour MP in Parliament.
After his victory, Mr Mishra told the Manchester Evening News that housing is the 'single biggest issue' facing residents in Stockport. He said: "In the local authority area we have over seven thousand families on the social housing waiting list.
"Housing is a fundamental human right, everybody deserves a safe, clean and decent home. I want to make sure that everyone regardless of their income bracket has that in Stockport and in England and the UK - Labour has made a commitment in the manifesto to deliver on housing.
"We have a minority Lib Dem administration on the council in Stockport, hopefully we can work towards a Labour majority in the council chamber soon, but I'll continue to work with everyone.
"The waiting list is a big issue, but part of that is also Stepping Hill hospital. We need real investment in Stepping Hill, either at the same site or at a different site, we've got almost eight million people on national waiting lists for NHS so that needs to be addressed, it's a fundamental human right so that is a massive issue.
"I want to see the expansion of better public transport, we've got the bus franchising coming in January but Stockport station needs real investment, Reddish South has issues with services, I want disabled access at all train stations in the UK starting with the Stockport constituency."
Asked whether Labour would provide funding for facilities like Stepping Hill, Mr Mishra added: "Absolutely, we've seen 14 years of decline, 14 years of cuts for public services, we've got issues with the library system, our leisure centres, all sorts of issues with the public realm.
"Labour will offer economic growth which will boost tax revenue and bring real investment. I also want to see well-paid, skilled, unionised jobs come to Stockport so we can have people out of poverty wages and into skilled jobs and they can bring up their family with pride."
On railways, the re-elected Stockport MP said: "Labour has made a commitment in the manifesto for GB Rail, so when these [existing] train contracts they will come under the umbrella of GB Rail and that will mean similar to what the bus franchising model will be.
"The people will decide what services should be run, the cost will be regulated, automatic delay repay, all of that stuff. It will be a massive boost to the people of Stockport and Britain."
Mr Mishra’s win will see his mixed relationship with the Lib Dem-run Stockport council continue, after he clashed with town hall leader Mark Hunter over issues such as the number of new houses being built.
Mr Hunter said the Lib Dems are addressing the housing problems in Stockport. He added: "We're delivering on housing, that's what we keep saying to Labour when they keep going on about the need for new houses - we agree and we're doing something about it.
"But they have to be the right homes in the right places, that's why we're putting 4,000 new homes in Stockport town centre, and that's not the end of it, we've got plans for more and not just in the town centre, in our district centres as well.
"We take very seriously the commitment to provide new housing, lots of people in Stockport are looking for action on that but we are delivering, you can see it happening across the A6."
Mr Hunter added that the general election had been a 'fabulous night' for the Lib Dems in Stockport and across the country.
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