Labour has been ousted in the Gorton and Denton by-election, which was seen as a crucial vote of public confidence in Sir Keir Starmer.
Zack Polanski’s Green Party emerged victorious in this hotly contested race, securing 14,980 votes and overturning Labour’s previously substantial majority in the seat. This marked the Green Party’s first-ever by-election win.
Hannah Spencer narrowly defeated Reform UK candidate and former academic Matt Goodwin to become the newest member of the House of Commons.
Speaking to crowds early Friday morning, she declared she could not accept the victory without addressing the politicians and divisive figures who constantly scapegoat and blame communities for society’s problems.
She emphasised that her party does things “differently” in Manchester and claimed the Greens could replicate this success across the country.
Spencer also expressed her frustrations with politicians who “scapegoat” the Muslim community as she addressed the crowd. She reminded Muslim voters that they have more in common with white working-class communities than they might realise.
Thursday’s vote marked only the second time in history that Labour has finished third in a by-election in a constituency they previously held, the first being in Mitcham and Morden in 1982.
Democracy Volunteers reported that their observers attended 22 of the constituency’s 45 polling stations, witnessing family voting at 15 of them.
This crucial by-election was triggered by the resignation of former Labour minister Andrew Gwynne, MP for Gorton and Denton, citing health reasons. It was widely speculated that this resignation would create an opportunity for Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to run as Labour’s candidate, enabling him to challenge the Prime Minister’s leadership. However, the Prime Minister’s allies on the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) blocked Burnham’s candidacy after eight of the ten members, including Sir Keir himself, voted against his contesting the seat. Only one committee member, the party’s deputy leader Lucy Powell, supported his candidacy, while the NEC chairman and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood abstained.
Before the final results were announced, the Greens predicted that a “seismic moment” was about to impact British politics. Electoral Calculus founder Martin Baxter stated that the election marked the “death of the old model of British politics.”
However, leading up to the poll, Polanski’s party faced widespread criticism for publishing campaign videos entirely in Urdu and Bengali, the official languages of Pakistan and Bangladesh and parts of India. The videos featured images of Sir Keir shaking hands with Indian PM Narendra Modi and then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy alongside Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, set against a backdrop of scenes of devastation in Gaza with the word “Labour” prominently displayed.
The Greens were accused of trying to inflame sectarian tensions in British politics throughout their campaign, with campaigners seen waving Pakistani and Palestinian flags on the streets the night before the vote. At Labour headquarters on election night, party sources began to place blame before the final result was even announced.
Labour’s chairwoman Anna Turley said: “This result is clearly disappointing. By-elections are normally difficult for the party of government, and this election was no different.”
“We have had thousands of conversations over the last few weeks and we know the majority of voters here did not want the poisonous politics of Nigel Farage and Reform,” Turley fumed.
GB News asked Reform’s Matt Goodwin what happened, he said, “Sectarianism. That’s what happened.
“We more than doubled our vote. We’re in Labour’s backyard. We’re a second political force in this seat. We have planted a flag in northern England.”
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