The party announced its candidate for the by-election on Monday afternoon
Restore Britain has announced its candidate for the Greater Manchester mayoral by-election as Marlon West. It comes following Mr Burnham’s victory in the Makerfield by-election which has triggered a vote for a new mayor, to take place on July 30.
Labour will be hoping to defend the mayoralty, while Reform UK is likely to be a significant challenger, having won dozens of council seats across Greater Manchester in May’s local elections.
It will be the first time a candidate from the Restore party has stood to be mayor of the region, after the right-wing party was set up by former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe in 2025.
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West, who is from Greater Manchester and has worked in the NHS across the region for more than 30 years, says he will push to attract genuine business investment, cut wasteful public spending, protect greenfield land from developers, and overhaul a transport network that has ‘failed commuters for years’ if he wins.
He said: “I have lived and worked in this city for my entire life. I have seen what good public services look like and I have seen what happens when institutions fail the people they are supposed to protect.
“Andy Burnham ran those institutions for a decade while children were being abused on his watch. Greater Manchester deserves a mayor who understands this city, fights for its people, and is not afraid to hold power to account. I am standing because this city deserves better and I know exactly what that looks like.”
The candidate has been a prominent campaigner against Child Sexual Exploitation in the country, spending more than two years pressuring the government to establish a national grooming gang inquiry, according to Restore.
He has also worked with the party leader in his independent Rape Gang Inquiry, which claims to be the most comprehensive independent examination of grooming gang abuse ever conducted in Britain.
Leader of Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe MP said: “Marlon West spent years fighting for victims that politicians like Andy Burnham chose to ignore. He knows this city and he knows its people. Greater Manchester deserves better leadership than it has had. Marlon has already proved he fights for this city when it matters. Now he wants to run it.”
Restore Britain is the second party to announce its candidate for the election – with the Greens announcing Geraldine Coggins as their candidate last week.
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Labour issued a statement on Friday evening describing the upcoming contest as a ‘two-horse race’ between itself and Reform. A Labour source said: “Labour in power in Greater Manchester has seen real improvements for people’s everyday lives.
“From buses back in public control with capped fares, to thousands more homes and additional infrastructure built – all of this progress could be put at risk with Reform. The Greens can’t win this race. It’s time to pass the torch from Andy Burnham, who has delivered for the area, to the next transformational Labour mayor.”
Manchester council leader Bev Craig – who became the first woman to hold that position in 2021 – is currently considered to be the favourite for the nomination, while Salford mayor Paul Dennett is understood not to be putting himself forward. The M.E.N. understands allies close to Mr Burnham fear Labour could lose the mayoralty if Sir Keir Starmer does not set out a timeline for his departure before the by-election takes place.
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