Catherine Goodyer
Labour candidate who lost the April 2026 Salford by-election to Reform UK's Michael James Felse.
Last refreshed: 26 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Is the Salford result a warning sign for Labour in Greater Manchester on 7 May?
Timeline for Catherine Goodyer
Received 643 votes (33.2%) and lost the by-election
UK Local Elections 2026: Reform takes Salford ward off Labour- Who is Catherine Goodyer Labour Salford?
- Catherine Goodyer was the Labour candidate who lost the Barton and Winton ward by-election in Salford in April 2026 to Reform UK's Michael James Felse.Source: Lowdown
- Why did Labour lose the Salford Barton and Winton by-election in 2026?
- Labour candidate Catherine Goodyer lost by 33 votes to Reform UK's Michael James Felse, receiving 643 votes to Felse's 676. The result continued Labour's run of by-election losses to Reform in northern England ahead of 7 May.Source: Lowdown
- Who is Catherine Goodyer and why did she stand in Salford?
- Goodyer is a caseworker who has lived in Barton and Winton for seven years. She stood as Labour's candidate to succeed David Lancaster MBE, describing him as leaving big shoes to fill.Source: Salford Now
Background
Catherine Goodyer was the Labour Party candidate in the Barton and Winton ward by-election on Salford City Council, held on 22 April 2026. She polled 643 votes, narrowly behind Reform UK's Michael James Felse (676), who took the seat with a margin of just 33 votes.
Gooyer has lived in the Barton and Winton community for seven years and stood as a first-time candidate. She works as a caseworker and said she had seen the challenges facing her community at first hand, with a focus on holding landlords to account and street cleaning. Her selection followed the death of Labour's long-serving incumbent David Lancaster MBE, in whose memory she acknowledged she would have "big shoes to fill."
The result continued Labour's pattern of by-election losses to Reform UK in the pre-7 May period across northern England, lending credibility to polling models projecting Reform council gains in other Greater Manchester boroughs. Barton and Winton had been a SAFE Labour ward; Goodyer's defeat added it to the list of seats providing direct evidence of Reform's inroads in metropolitan Labour territory ahead of the main cycle.
