Greens prepare for Gorton and Denton byelection fight after Andy Burnham blocked

Party see prevention of Greater Manchester mayor from running as an opportunity but a high Greens vote could allow Reform UK to win the seat

The Greens are set to stage an all-out fight to win the upcoming Gorton and Denton byelection, with officials in the party arguing they have a real chance of victory after Andy Burnham was barred from applying to be the Labour candidate.

The Greens came third in the seat in the general election, nearly 14,000 votes behind Andrew Gwynne, the sitting MP who stepped down last week. But they plan to flood the constituency with activists in the hope of persuading locals they are the party more likely to defeat Reform UK.