Greens win Gorton and Denton by - election in blow to Starmer

thetelegraphandargus.co.uk · Feb 27, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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The Green Party has won its first ever parliamentary by-election in Gorton and Denton, dealing a bitter blow to Sir Keir Starmer. Labour’s defeat, trailing in third behind Zack Polanski’s Greens and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the previously rock-solid Greater Manchester constituency, will pile pressure on the Prime Minister. Hannah Spencer, a councillor and plumber, emerged victorious for the Greens, with 14,980 votes and a majority of 4,402 votes. Reform UK’s candidate Matt Goodwin got 10,578 votes, with Labour’s Angeliki Stogia trailing on 9,364, down from 18,555 in the 2024 general election, when the turnout was similarly high. Conservative candidate Charlotte Cadden received just 706 votes, with the Liberal Democrats getting 653. In an emotional victory speech, Ms Spencer said people were being “bled dry” and were “sick of our hard work making other people rich”. Taking aim at her election rivals, she said: “I won’t accept this victory tonight without calling out politicians and divisive figures who constantly scapegoat and blame our communities for all the problems in society.” The 34-year-old, who becomes the Green Party’s fifth MP, also apologised to customers who had made appointments for plumbing jobs, joking: “I think I might have to cancel the work that you had booked in, because I’m heading to Parliament.” Celebrating the swing of 27.5% from Labour to Greens, Mr Polanski said: “If we see a swing like this at the next general election, there will be a tidal wave of new Green MPs.” Hannah Spencer giving her victory speech (Peter Byrne/PA)Reform’s Mr Goodwin said: “I think the progressives were told how to vote, and I think what you saw was a coalition of Islamists and woke progressives that came together to dominate a constituency. And many people in this country will look at Gorton and Denton and be appalled by what they see.” He also said Reform had “embarrassed Labour in one of their strongest seats”. Labour Party chairwoman Anna Turley lamented the “clearly disappointing” result, saying: “By-elections are normally difficult for the party of government, and this election was no different.” She added that “the politics of anger and easy answers offered by the Greens and Reform” would not tackle the cost-of-living crisis, create opportunities for young people or invest in public services. Statement: “We are losing our country. A dangerous Muslim sectarianism has emerged. We have only one general election left to save Britain. Vote Reform every chance you get. I will continue the fight. I will always fight for you. I will stand at the next general election. Matt.” pic.twitter.com/2jLMNv0ap6 — Matt Goodwin (@GoodwinMJ) February 27, 2026 The Greens’ victory will undermine Labour’s claim to be the only option for anti-Reform voters in the May local elections, deepening the electoral challenge for the governing party. Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell earlier admitted the Greens had won the “argument that they were best placed” to keep Reform out of Gorton and Denton. She insisted “there is no leadership contest” and that Sir Keir “is resolute in his job as leader of the Labour Party, as our Prime Minister”. But the outcome will likely renew speculation about Sir Keir’s position, which has come under pressure from the Lord Peter Mandelson scandal, a slew of departures from No 10 and Labour’s plummeting popularity. Sir Keir’s decision to block potential leadership rival Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester Mayor, from running will also come under the spotlight. Labour Party candidate Angeliki Stogia was joined by Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell during a polling day campaign event (Peter Byrne/PA)The contest was triggered by former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne standing down for health reasons. Reform leader Mr Farage claimed “cheating” had led to his candidate’s defeat. Concerns have been raised about people forcing family members to vote in a certain way in the contest. Election observer group Democracy Volunteers warned it had witnessed “concerningly high levels” of family voting – an illegal practice where two voters use one polling booth and potentially direct each other on voting. Mr Farage posted on X: “This election was a victory for sectarian voting and cheating. Matt Goodwin was a great candidate for us. “Roll on the elections on May 7th. It will be goodbye Starmer and goodbye to the Tory party.” A Greens spokesperson said: “This is an attempt to undermine the democratic result and is straight out of the Trump playbook. “We’ve just won a historic by-election by a comfortable margin. “We’ve shown the country that Greens can beat Reform, despite their big business donations.” A spokesman for the Conservative Party, which came a distant fourth, said: “Keir Starmer has killed the Labour Party. “In losing one of Labour’s safest seats, in a constituency that has returned Labour MPs for almost a century, Starmer has shown he no longer commands the support of Labour voters and is now a lame duck leader.” Polling expert Sir John Curtice said that “nervousness” will be heightened in Labour after the result but cast doubt on the prospect of Sir Keir facing a leadership challenge before May elections. He told BBC Breakfast: “There are two big messages that come out of this. The first, of course, the most immediate, is that the nervousness that already existed inside the Labuor Party about Keir Starmer’s ability to turn around his party’s electoral fortunes, that nervousness is now going to be heightened. “Not that there will be any move against the Prime Minister before May 7, but his chances of surviving after May 7 if the results are bad, have, I think, been diminished.” He said the poll also raises further questions about the traditional dominance of the Conservatives and Labour. “We have now had two by-elections this Parliament – one by Reform, one by the Greens – and we are seeing increasingly evidence that voters are willing to vote for parties other than the conventional, traditional parties of British politics,” he said.