Councillor Marcus Johns

It’s a privilege to serve our community and help build a fairer, greener, better city centre. I’m honoured to have been re-elected again on my record as your Labour Co-op Councillor. Councillor Marcus Johns
Councillor Marcus Johns

Personal Bio

I’m Marcus and I am one of the Deansgate Councillors. I live in Castlefield with my partner Jose, my young son, and our cat.  As your Deansgate Labour Co-op Councillor since 2018, re-elected in 2021 and 2024, I have:

  • campaigned for climate action
  • secured new city centre green spaces, such as Mayfield Park & New Jackson
  • secured a primary school & GP at New Jackson
  • stood up for LGBT+ rights
  • chaired the Economy & Regeneration Committee

Raising my family here in our city centre, our community really matters to me. I stood on my record on 2nd May 2024 as your councillor, working by your side, as we build a brighter future together. I was delighted that you re-elected me with my highest vote share – over 62 per cent of the vote.

I moved to Manchester in 2013 at the age of 18. Manchester quickly became my home as a vibrant city made of a rich fabric diverse communities all tightly woven together. As a young, gay person moving to Manchester, it welcomed me with open arms.

I went to the University of Manchester and stayed for work in a think tank developing progressive public policy, after working in economic development.

I became a Councillor because I wanted to give something back to the community that had been so welcoming and given me a home. I love living in the city centre, and I’m proud to work towards making it an ever-better place to live and an ever-stronger community. I love serving our diverse, exciting community and fighting for our vision of the City Centre: an ever fairer, greener, and better place where everyone can live their whole lives happily with good homes, good jobs, and good services meeting their needs—old or young, families with children, adopted Mancunian or not, whoever you are.

I Chair the Council’s Economy and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee, which looks at issues like housing, highways, transport, jobs, skills and training, culture, and strategies at the Greater Manchester level. I chose this committee, and was grateful to be elected by the Council to chair it, because I have experience in the field, previously working in economic development and now doing economic research, and I am passionate about building a fairer economy for Manchester people.

As a Labour Councillor,  I want our city to be a place where everyone can have a good life. Manchester Labour’s record shows that we have strived for this, and I’m proud of the achievements of Labour in Manchester.

I am also a Co-operative Party Councillor because I believe a fairer economy means fairer ownership of the economy. Co-operatives play a crucial role in achieving this, alongside credit unions working to make finance fairer too.

In the wider Labour Party, I have been North West Chair of LGBT+ Labour, fighting for LGBT+ rights and representation in politics, Councils, and Parliament across the North West.

Outside of politics and being a Councillor, I have too many interests to properly devote enough time! I like reading, learning languages, cooking, playing video games, and speak Spanish! I’m also a big fan of the theatre, particularly musicals, and our drag scene in Manchester’s Gay Village.

My pledges in 2024

In my current term, starting 2nd May 2024, I am working to deliver a brighter future for Manchester, with a focus on fulfilling my pledges:

  • advancing our green space revolution with more trees, more green space, and improving existing ones
  • building safe and affordable homes for all to enjoy, including supporting residents with fire safety issues
  • improving access to health and education services for city centre residents of all ages, particularly NHS dentistry
  • delivering clean streets we can all be proud of, using our £2.3 million new investment
  • achieving a sustainable future for our city, tackling the climate emergency, cleaning our air, and building a fair economy.

My pledges in 2021

During my term since May 2021 when you re-elected me, I have been working to fulfill the promises I made to you then:

  1. continuing to campaign against the cladding and fire safety defects scandal, demanding a solution that protects residents from costs
  2. delivering new and better green spaces for our city centre, investing £30,000 in existing spaces in the next year alone, finishing construction of the new park at Mayfield, and securing green space at Great Jackson Street
  3. supporting a strong and fair economic recovery plan for Manchester post-Covid
  4. demanding climate action, supporting Manchester Labour’s £111 million climate action plan
  5. fighting for investment in city centre services, including securing the first primary school in Deansgate Ward
  6. securing new affordable and social housing for Manchester
  7. tackling rough sleeping and homelessness, working with Andy Burnham, the Council and others to keep up the momentum that has seen rough sleeping more than half since 2017
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