Local elections 2024: ‘Karl Marx’ wins a local council seat in Stockport

A “Karl Marx” has been re-elected as a Labour councillor in Stockport, on a night of strong results for the party.

Councillor Karl Peter Marx Wardlaw won the ward of Brinnington and Stockport Central, the council’s most deprived area, with 61% of the vote.

The win might spark raised eyebrows as the north-west councillor’s namesake, the revolutionary socialist and author of The Communist Manifesto, had a vision rather to the left of Keir Starmer, who has sidelined the left and continually distanced himself from his more radical predecessor in recent years.

It was once famously said of even 20th century Labour that the party “owes more to Methodism than to Marxism”, with founder Keir Hardie a Methodist preacher.

Council-wide, Labour lost two seats to the Liberal Democrats in Stockport.

However, this stood in contrast to many of the early results announced overnight, with Labour gaining Thurrock, Redditch, Rushmoor and Hartlepool.

Labour also won the parliamentary by-election in Blackpool South with a huge swing from the Conservatives.

See more coverage of the 2024 local elections here.

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