Closing summary
Keir Starmer has vowed to “keep on fighting” despite Labour’s humiliating defeat in the Gorton and Denton by-election. Speaking to reporters, he acknowledged it was a “disappointing” result and that voters were “frustrated”, but insisted he would carry on. Asked if he had considered resigning, Starmer said: “I came into politics late in life to fight for change for those people who need it. I will keep on fighting for those people for as long as I’ve got breath in my body.”
Starmer doubled down on the anti-Green party language he was using during the byelection campaign. Referring to Reform UK and the Greens, he said: “We were fighting the extremes of the right and the extremes of the left.”
At a rally in Manchester celebrating his party’s victory, Green leader Zack Polanski said the result was “an existential crisis for the Labour party”. He said: “No longer can they try and scare people into saying they have to vote for something because they’re worried about the least-worst option. A vote for the Greens is a vote both to stop Reform, to stop Labour and for something hopeful and a plan.”
In a pointed comment, Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister and a key figure on Labour’s left, called the result “a wake-up call”, calling for her colleagues to “be braver” and “rededicate” themselves to “a Labour agenda that puts people first”.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, whose candidate came a distant fourth with just 706 votes, said the result “shows Keir Starmer’s premiership is finished”. She added: “He is in office but not in power. If he had any integrity he would go.”
Labour MP Clive Lewis has called for a “clean break” for the party after the Gorton and Denton byelection, describing the defeat as “a punch in the face”. The Norwich South MP, a prominent left-wing critic of the current leadership, said: “The byelection result is a punch in the face for the Labour Party and for Keir Starmer’s premiership. This government has burned its base, alienated its core vote, sidelined its activists and stuck two fingers up to the very people we came into politics to represent – and we’re surprised voters are walking away?”
Greater Manchester Police has said it is “in the process of reviewing” a report about possible “family voting” in the Gorton and Denton by-election. Reform UK made a report to the police about the illegal practice, where two voters use one polling booth and potentially direct each other on voting, after election observer group Democracy Volunteers warned it had witnessed “concerningly high levels” of it.
The shadow local government minister, James Cleverly, has written to the Electoral Commission requesting a fully inquiry into reports of breaches of electoral law in Gorton and Denton. In his letter, which was shared on social media, he said: “There is clear evidence that electoral offences were committed, and a blind eye was turned to corruption and criminal activity.”
Muslim organisations and campaigners have criticised comments made by Reform figures following the Gorton and Denton by-election, warning that language about “sectarian” voting risks stigmatising British Muslims. Shaista Aziz, co-director of the anti-racism organisation Three Hijabis, said: “Within moments of the by-election result, there was conflation of paedophile gangs and Muslim voters and so-called family voting. It was immediate. It is disgusting and deeply irresponsible. This is Trumpism turbocharged in the UK.”
Anas Sarwar has made clear he has to persuade voters who dislike the Labour party but are equally angry with the Scottish National Party’s unimpressive record in government if he is win May’s Holyrood election. Speaking to reporters after a speech at a one day conference in Paisley, he said some voters should “hold their nose” and use Labour on a tactical basis to oust the SNP.
The leader of Plaid Cymru has claimed the Welsh parliament elections in May will be a straight fight between his party and Reform UK, which he billed as a choice between “culture or ignorance, humanity or indifference”. Rhun ap Iorwerth, the clear favourite to be the next Welsh first minister, said the Gorton and Denton byelection showed Labour and the Tories were “slipping away”, and he promised Plaid had a radical plan to boost Wales’ fortunes.
Updated
When Labour’s Scottish leader, Anas Sarwar, urged Keir Starmer to stand down two weeks ago, Starmer’s closest advisers presented him a choice: fight, flight or hand over his destiny to his party by calling a leadership contest.
The prime minister chose the first option and his Downing Street team sprung into action to contain the threat. At the moment of greatest peril for Starmer, MPs peered over the precipice and didn’t like what they saw.
In the fortnight since, not much has changed. Even with Labour’s humiliating defeat in the Gorton and Denton byelection, where it was pushed into third place behind the Greens and Reform UK, the uneasy truce has persisted.
“It’s not working but I don’t see what the alternative is,” one cabinet minister told the Guardian. A senior party figure described MPs as “dejected, doomful but not mutinous”. A Labour MP characterised the situation as “stalemate – for now”.
Starmer’s allies are determined to make the most of what is likely to be a brief hiatus. “Keir is stronger for MPs having stepped back from the abyss. They know a contest would unleash more chaos and their constituents would hate it,” one said.
The leader of Plaid Cymru has claimed the Welsh parliament elections in May will be a straight fight between his party and Reform UK, which he billed as a choice between “culture or ignorance, humanity or indifference”.
Speaking at the party’s biggest ever conference, Rhun ap Iorwerth, the clear favourite to be the next Welsh first minister, said the Gorton and Denton byelection showed Labour and the Tories were “slipping away”, and he promised Plaid had a radical plan to boost Wales’ fortunes.
He said that while the Greens had done well to win in Greater Manchester, he was confident voters in Wales looking for a progressive alternative would turn to Plaid.
During the leader’s speech in Newport, south-east Wales, ap Iorwerth highlighted plans such as setting up 10 surgical hubs to tackle NHS waiting lists, and making sure every school has a library.
He said that on Saturday the party, which is comfortably leading the polls, would reveal a blueprint for its first 100 days in power after the Senedd elections.
Greater Manchester Police has said it is “in the process of reviewing” a report about possible “family voting” in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
Reform UK made a report to the police about the illegal practice, where two voters use one polling booth and potentially direct each other on voting, after election observer group Democracy Volunteers warned it had witnessed “concerningly high levels” of it.
Greater Manchester Police said:
We can confirm a report has been made. We are in the process of reviewing this report and will provide a further update in due course.
In a stunning setback for Labour, the Green party has decisively won the Gorton and Denton byelection, with Reform UK finishing second.
Does this result signal the end of Labour’s safe seats? And could it mark the beginning of the end for Keir Starmer?
John Harris, Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey unpack the fallout – and explore what might happen next…
Updated
It could have been a flash of arrogance. Hubris for the ages. On Thursday morning, at a time when most pundits were still calling the Gorton and Denton byelection a three-way fight that was impossible to call, the Green party sent out a note to journalists.
Come along to the first press conference of Hannah Spencer MP tomorrow. And while you’re about it, stay on to join her for her first constituency surgery. What could possibly go wrong? As it happens … absolutely nothing.
In the end it wasn’t even close, with the Greens getting 40% of the vote and Reform trailing a long way behind in second on 28%. Labour came a distant third on 25%. About the worst possible result for them, the idea that they were the only progressive party on the left that could defeat Reform in tatters. For the Greens, this was a night of undiluted triumph. The first byelection victory in their history. In a seat they had never previously targeted. Life couldn’t be more sweet.
Spencer’s acceptance speech was endearingly down to earth. She had never considered herself a politician. She was a plumber who had recently qualified as a plasterer. If things don’t turn out quite how she hopes as an MP, she will still have a job for life in Westminster. The toilets there are in a truly shocking state and the buildings are falling to pieces. Let’s hope she remembers her hard hat when she is sworn in on Monday.
Reform UK and the Conservatives have asked the elections watchdog to investigate allegations of corrupt voting in the Gorton and Denton byelection as Nigel Farage claimed there had been “cheating”, despite limited evidence of wrongdoing.
The reports to the Electoral Commission come after an election observers group, Democracy Volunteers, said they had witnessed “concerningly high levels” of so-called family voting, where one family member effectively dictates how others cast their ballot.
One previous election observer for the group said it would be important to know the methodology behind the group’s claim that 12% of observed voters were involved in family voting, given that there was a “grey line” as to what precisely that meant.
The group’s report, published as soon as the polls closed on Thursday night, has given impetus to claims of wrongdoing by defeated parties, with Farage part-echoing Donald Trump’s complaints about stolen elections by saying his party was the victim of “sectarian voting and cheating”.
Reform’s chair, David Bull, said later this did not mean the outcome of the election had been changed.
Anas Sarwar has made clear he has to persuade voters who dislike the Labour party but are equally angry with the Scottish National Party’s unimpressive record in government if he is win May’s Holyrood election.
Speaking to reporters after a speech at a one day conference in Paisley, he said some voters should “hold their nose” and use Labour on a tactical basis to oust the SNP.
He told reporters he needed to build a temporary coalition of voters to stand a chance of defeating the SNP on 7 May, arguing a significant majority of Scottish voters were opposed to the SNP.
He said a Scottish Election Study poll out on Friday which put Scottish Labour fourth on 14% also showed the SNP were backed by only 35% of voters. He insisted his party had repeatedly defied poll forecasts that Labour would badly lose Scottish by elections and national elections, under his leadership.
The Scottish Election Study ‘Scoop’ poll of 1,500 voters, carried out by YouGov, found that only 23% of respondents believed the SNP was doing a good job in office compared to 40% in the first Scoop survey in December 2021. Sarwar believes that figure shows the SNP can be beaten.
He said:
My focus in the next 10 weeks is to make sure we change the first minister. The point I’m making to people across the country is, if we recognise, and I think there is a clear majority in this country that want to remove the SNP from office. I think that’s clear.
And you’re right to suggest that there’s a deep unpopularity with the UK Labour government, but there’s a clear majority in Scotland that want the SNP out of office. And what I’m seeing is that the only people that can remove the SNP from office are me and Scottish Labour. There’s only two people that can be first minister of the election; John Swinney or I.
So I’m saying directly to people, if you want to get rid of the SNP, then whether you do it with enthusiasm, whether you do it with anger, or whether you hold your nose and do it, you have to back Scottish Labour, and you have to vote for me, because only I can remove them from office.
Labour MPs and ministers react to party's by-election failure
As prime minister Keir Starmer comes under renewed pressure following Labour’s by-election capitulation, key figures across the party have voiced their opinions.
Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner posted on X:
This result must be a wake up call. It’s time to really listen - and to reflect. Voters want the change that we promised - and they voted for.
If we want to unrig the system, if we want to make the change we were sent into Government to make, we have to be braver. A labour agenda that puts people first.
That’s what all of us across our movement need to rededicate ourselves to this morning.
Meanwhile, Clive Lewis called for a “clean break” after the Gorton and Denton by-election, describing the defeat as “a punch in the face”.
He told the Press Association:
The by-election result is a punch in the face for the Labour party and for Keir Starmer’s premiership. This government has burned its base, alienated its core vote, sidelined its activists and stuck two fingers up to the very people we came into politics to represent - and we’re surprised voters are walking away?
Changing the leader without changing the politics would be a waste of time. The problem isn’t presentation. It’s direction. We promised change and delivered continuity. We talk tough but govern timid. We protect vested interests when we should be taking them on.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said the government will “reflect and learn from” Labour’s defeat. She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the result makes her “even more determined” to “deliver change”.
She added:
You would expect me to say that as a member of the Cabinet, but it makes me even more determined than I have ever been to deliver the change that the country voted for in 2024 and that is an economy where we’ve got investment coming in, where our public services are of a standard that the public deserve and rightly expect, and where we provide opportunity for all.
Douglas Alexander, the Scotland secretary, has said Keir Starmer needs to “move further and faster” to address voter anger over his government’s policies after a “tough and disappointing” by election result for Labour.
He said:
Well, of course it’s a tough and disappointing result for Labour. I’ve seen by elections, I’ve won some and I’ve lost some. Of course, governments tend to lose by elections, but we’ll take time to reflect and consider what this means.
My own sense this morning is that we need to move further and faster in delivering the change that people want to see. Given the depth of frustration that voters feel about the challenges they continue to face.
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has told his party conference he would “stand up to Keir Starmer” if he becomes first minister of Wales in May.
He said:
We offer hope, hope that can overcome people’s fears of other political forces leading Wales down a dark path.
And hope that, finally, Wales will have a government willing to stand up to Keir Starmer, to [Welsh secretary] Jo Stevens and anyone else denying our nation the fairness it deserves.
Westminster treats Wales with contempt with such alarming frequency it’s sometimes difficult to keep up.
He added:
From day one, as your first minister, I would work to reset the relationship between Welsh and UK governments - a relationship characterised now as one of disrespect, disinterest and at times, it seems, wilful ignorance.
My first conversation with the UK prime minister would set out a commitment to working constructively and cordially. But it would also set out my clear expectation that the will of the people of Wales must no longer be ignored.
As a plumber and recently qualified plasterer, the newly elected Green MP for Gorton and Denton, Hannah Spencer, has said that when she enters Parliament she ‘will make space for everyone doing jobs like mine’. She joins a short list of MPs from semi-skilled or skilled manual backgrounds, most from the Labour party and most of them men.
The mining industry has been well represented: Keir Hardie, Labour’s first parliamentary leader; Aneurin Bevan (Labour), noted as the driving force behind the creation of the NHS; and the firebrand Labour MP Dennis Skinner were all miners.
Lee Anderson, another former miner, was a member of the Labour party before becoming a Conservative MP, later defecting to Reform UK.
John Prescott (Labour) was a ship steward in the merchant navy before entering politics, going on to be deputy prime minister.
Alan Johnson was a postman and union leader before he became a Labour MP and home secretary.
Margaret Grace Bondfield served an apprenticeship to an embroiderer and worked as a shop assistant. She became the first woman to attain cabinet rank in Great Britain, as minister of labour under Ramsay MacDonald’s Labour government.
Before becoming a Conservative MP, Nick Fletcher was an apprentice electrician who started his own business after being made redundant.
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, has claimed that first minister John Swinney is “banking on cynicism and exhaustion to drag him over the line” in May’s Holyrood election as he tried to switch attention from Labour’s humiliating by election defeat in Denton and Gorton.
Sarwar told Labour activists, MPs and MSPs gathered at a one day pre-election conference in Paisley the Holyrood election in 10 weeks was only a contest between himself and Swinney about who could be first minister.
In his only allusion to that byelection defeat, Sarwar said May’s vote should not be a protest vote on Keir Starmer’s ailing UK government but a contest about replacing the Scottish National party’s government and its “moaning” leader, John Swinney.
He said:
This election matters because for me, Scotland matters. This is not a protest. It is not a free hit. It is not about Westminster or about pollsters or commentator chatter
It is about who runs Scotland and what they will do with that immense honour of serving Scotland’s people. John Swinney is banking on cynicism and exhaustion to drag him over the line.
He is hoping people are so worn down that his shameful record is ignored. But this election isn’t about protest or about sending a message.
He said it was about fixing NHS waiting lists; housing homeless children; policing unsafe streets; improving education by, in part, banning in mobiles in schools. “So, to those who claim to stand up for Scotland but also say this election is about somewhere else or someone else, I say shame on you.”
Despite his claim the election was a straight fight between the Scottish National party and Labour, a new poll from the publicly-funded Scottish Election Study, run by academics at Edinburgh university, found that Scottish Labour was in fourth place and fighting an uphill battle against the Scottish Greens in third and Reform UK in second place.
Labour strategists believe the SNP’s static polling position - seemingly fixed at around 35% of the electorate and its very poor ratings on public service delivery - show it remains vulnerable.
Douglas Alexander, the Scotland secretary, said he remained confident Labour could overcome those poll ratings over the next 10 weeks. He claimed Labour had defied poor polls in the past:
He said:
If there was another lesson that you could draw from last night, it is not only that voters are frustrated, but that this electorate is volatile. And in that sense, I think it would be a misjudgement and complacent on the part of the SNP to think that they have this election in the bag, when ultimately the choice will rest with the Scottish people as to whether this is about making a protest or changing the government in power.
Cleverly calls for inquiry into voter fraud
The shadow local government minister, James Cleverly, has written to the Electoral Commission requesting a fully inquiry into reports of breaches of electoral law in Gorton and Denton.
In his letter, which was shared on social media, he said: “There is clear evidence that electoral offences were committed, and a blind eye was turned to corruption and criminal activity.”
He continued: “Any cultural practices of husbands being allowed to instruct their wives how to vote is an insult to the hard-fought liberty of female suffrage. The rights of all British voters — across class, colour and creed — must be defended.”
He follows in the footsteps of Farage, who said earlier that Reform UK has referred the “family voting” claims in the Gorton and Denton byelection to the police and the Elecoral Commission.
Some photos from Guardian photographer Christopher Thomond in Gorton
Labour MP Clive Lewis has called for a “clean break” for the party after the Gorton and Denton byelection, describing the defeat as “a punch in the face”.
The Norwich South MP, a prominent left-wing critic of the current leadership, said:
The byelection result is a punch in the face for the Labour Party and for Keir Starmer’s premiership.
This government has burned its base, alienated its core vote, sidelined its activists and stuck two fingers up to the very people we came into politics to represent – and we’re surprised voters are walking away?
Changing the leader without changing the politics would be a waste of time.
The problem isn’t presentation. It’s direction. We promised change and delivered continuity. We talk tough but govern timid. We protect vested interests when we should be taking them on.
Reform is growing because millions feel ignored and taken for granted. If we don’t offer real change, they’ll channel their anger elsewhere, as they have this week in Denton and Gorton.
Stopping Reform now has to be the priority. But Labour can’t do that from a position of arrogance or denial. We will need to work with other progressive parties.
That means co-operation. It means democratic reform. It means accepting we do not own the centre-left vote.
None of that happens unless Labour changes fundamentally. Not tweaks. Not reshuffles. A clean break.
If we carry on like this, we won’t just lose byelections. We’ll lose the country for a generation.
Updated
How Gorton and Denton compares with other byelections - in three charts
Here are three charts that explain how the Gorton and Denton byelection results compares to previous byelections from the analysis produced by More in Common.
1) How Labour’s vote collapse compares with other byelections since 2016
More in Common says:
Whereas in the years preceding the 2024 general election, Labour were on a run of extremely successful byelection campaigns, their two most recent byelection losses show the scale of Labour’s challenge on both sides - losing 14 per cent of the vote to Reform in Runcorn and now 25 per cent of the vote to the Greens in Gorton and Denton.
2) How Labour’s vote loss compares with historic Labour byelection defeats
More in Common says this was one of Labour’s biggest ever byelection losses.
3) How Reform UK’s result compares with previous Ukip/Brexit party/Reform UK byelection results
More in Common says:
While the result in Gorton and Denton was disproportionately good for the Greens, Reform UK mostly performed in line with expectations. The swing they experience in Gorton and Denton roughly matches the swing they are experiencing everywhere else around the country, compared to the Greens who significantly outperformed their national polling.
That is all from me for today. Taz Ali is now taking over.
Updated
Reform UK says it is reporting 'family voting' allegations to police and Electoral Commission
Reform UK has announced that it has referred the “family voting” claims in the Gorton and Denton byelection to the police and the Elecoral Commission.
In a statement, Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said:
Reform has today reported the many cases of ‘family voting’ to the electoral commission and the police.
What was witnessed yesterday is deeply concerning and raises serious questions about the integrity of the democratic process in predominantly Muslim areas.
If this is what was happening at polling stations just imagine the potential for coercion with postal votes.
If action isn’t taken now, then we will ensure it is after the next general election.
The “family voting” claims were made by Democracy Volunteers, a group that monitors elections. Their statement is here.
Asked about the claims, Manchester city council said no issues had been reported and said it was “extremely disappointing” that Democracy Volunteers waited until after the close of polls to make the claims.
This is from James Ball, political editor of the New World (previously the New European), on the sectarian voting claims.
The current argument of the British right is that Muslims turned out in “blocs” with “family voting” to cast their ballots for a party led by a gay Jewish man, and this shows that multiculturalism has failed, voting is “sectarian” and we are in a crisis.
Hmmmmmm.
Labour faces struggle to win second place in Holyrood elections, poll suggests
Severin Carrell is the Guardian’s Scotland editor.
Scottish Labour now faces a very tight electoral battle for second place against the Scottish Greens and Reform UK in May’s Holyrood election, a widely-respected academic poll has found.
The poll of 1,517 Scottish voters from the publicly-funded Scottish Election Study has found the Scottish Greens have pushed Labour into fourth place for the first time.
Its Scoop poll, carried out by YouGov, put the Scottish National party on 34% in the constituency vote, Reform UK in second place at 18% and the Scottish Greens on 16%, with Labour trailing in fourth on 14%.
If that finding is repeated on 7 May, it will be the SNP’s worst result since 2007 but still hand them a fifth successive term in office because the opposition vote has been split by Reform UK.
While the Reform, Green and Labour numbers are very close and around a pollster’s margin of error, these data follow Labour’s shock defeat by the Green party of England and Wales in the Gorton and Denton byelection, where it came third behind Reform UK.
The Scottish Election Study team of Prof Ailsa Henderson and Dr Fraser McMillan, both at the University of Edinburgh, said those findings were likely to hand pro-independence parties a majority at Holyrood on 7 May.
Even so, their poll found an eight-point lead for no after don’t knows were excluded, with support for independence at 46% and the no vote at 54%.
John Swinney, the SNP leader and first minister, has said an overall majority for the SNP would trigger a demand for a second independence referendum but has not yet claimed a broader yes majority would do so.
Henderson and McMillan said:
Despite low satisfaction with the SNP’s performance in government, with just 23% of respondents indicating that the party was doing a ‘good job’ in office compared to 40% in the first Scoop survey in December 2021, the nationalists’ continued strength among pro-independence Scots on the constituency ballot means they are well-placed to compete for most of the country’s 73 first-past-the-post seats in May.
This, combined with the Scottish Greens’ increasing strength on the list and retreat from contesting most constituency seats, means voters could once again return a comfortable pro-independence majority despite yes continuing to lag no in a hypothetical second referendum (54% no versus 46% yes when undecideds and other non-response are removed).
Greens claim they could win more than 100 seats at next election on basis of Gorton and Denton-type swing
The Green party is claiming that it could win more than 100 seats at the next election on the basis of the swing it achieved in Gorton and Denton.
In practice, parties rarely replicate their best byelection results at general elections.
But More in Common, a polling company and campaigning organisation, has produced an analysis today showing how Gorton and Denton compared with other Green byelection results.
Labour MP Neil Duncan-Jordan suggests Starmer should go because he's 'block to us winning'
The Labour MP Neil Duncan-Jordan has suggested that Keir Starmer needs to be replaced as the party’s leader.
Speaking to Times Radio, he said:
If Keir Starmer is seen as a block when you go out and knock on doors - if people say to you, they’ll vote Labour, but they won’t vote Labour if he’s the leader – then he’s the block to us winning. And from a purely pragmatic, electoral strategic view, you have to remove that block …
Now, I’m not saying you do that this morning. I’m saying that we need to be serious about winning again. And, if there’s a block to winning again, then we need to look at how we remove that block.
Duncan-Jordan was one of four Labour MPs suspended by the party last year for several months for persistent disloyalty. One of the others was Brian Leishman and today Leishman has been calling for Starmer to go much more directly. (See 10.16am and 11.23am.)
Farage claims Green party win in Gorton and Denton evidence of 'resurgent hard left'
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has posted a video on social media doubling down on his claims that the Gorton and Denton byelection result was a victory for sectarian voting and cheating.
He cited the concerns raised by Democracy Volunteers, but he said the main probem with elections in this country was postal voting, which he claimed was being “abused massively”.
(Donald Trump also claims that postal voting is often fraudulent in the US. As in the UK, there is little or no evidence to support systematic postal vote fraud, but the notion has traction with conspiracy-minded rightwingers.)
In his video Farage said he was pleased that Reform UK had more than doubled its vote, and he claimed Keir Starmer was on his way out, and the Tories were “completely finished”.
He ended by suggesting some sort of link between the Green party and Churchill’s statue in Westminster being defaced overnight.
Farage said:
Starmer’s on the way out. The Tory party is completely finished. There’s a resurgent hard left working now with sectarian politics and, emboldened off the back of it, the Churchill statue in London has been vandalised overnight, calling him a Zionist and saying, ‘Globalise the Intafada’. We are in very, very big trouble. And the only party that will fight this, that will turn this around, will clean up the voting system, is Reform.”
Earlier David Bull, the Reform UK chair, said that his party was not challenging the legitimacy of the byelection result. (See 8.21am.)
Updated
Scottish secretary Douglas Alexander says byelection result shows Labour needs to go 'further and faster' delivering change
Severin Carrell is the Guardian’s Scotland editor.
Douglas Alexander, the Scotland secretary, has said Keir Starmer needs to “move further and faster” to address voter anger over his government’s policies after a “tough and disappointing” by election result for Labour.
Speaking outside Scottish Labour’s one-day conference in Paisley, Alexander refused to endorse calls earlier this month from Anas Sarwar, the Scottish party leader, for Starmer to quit but conceded that voters feel a “depth of frustration” about the government’s direction.
He said:
Well, of course it’s a tough and disappointing result for Labour. I’ve seen by elections, I’ve won some and I’ve lost some. Of course, governments tend to lose by elections, but we’ll take time to reflect and consider what this means. My own sense this morning is that we need to move further and faster in delivering the change that people want to see. Given the depth of frustration that voters feel about the challenges they continue to face.
Any party in government at the moment is going to face significant challenges. It’s not the first time a party of governments lost a by election, but we take this seriously. We’ll consider the lessons that need to be drawn. But my sense this morning is there’s a key lesson for us in moving further and faster in delivering the changes that people voted for in July 2024.
Hinting Sarwar would not repeat his calls for Starmer to stand down, Alexander said Sarwar wanted to intensify his focus on May’s Holyrood election, with Scottish Labour trailing either neck and neck with Reform in second place, or trailing third according to some polls.
Alexander said:
The main focus of what Anas is going to be focussed on today is not what’s happening in Westminster, but what’s about to happen in Holyrood. He is determined to use the coming ten weeks not to be a commentator on British politics, but to be the best persuader in Scottish politics.
We have a generationally talented leader in our Sarwar. I believe the next ten weeks he can take that case to the SNP, make the case that we deserve better, that we can fix the mess left behind by the SNP and that’s the case he’s going to make here in Paisley today.
Updated
Hannah Spencer - who she is, and full text of her victory speech
Josh Halliday and Alexandra Topping have written a profile of Hannah Spencer, the new Green party MP for Gorton and Denton.
And here, for the record, is the full text of Spencer’s victory speech. It does not seem to be available online, and it is worth recording in full.
I didn’t grow up wanting to be a politician. I’m a plumber. And two weeks ago, during all this, I also qualified as a plasterer. Because even in chaos, even under pressure …. I get things done. I am no different to every single person here in this constituency. I work hard. That’s what we do.
Except things have changed a lot over the last few decades. Because working hard used to get you something. It got you a house. A nice life. Holidays. It got you somewhere.
But now- working hard? What does that get you? Because talk to anyone here and they’ll tell you. The people who work hard but can’t put food on the table. Can’t get their kids school uniforms. Can’t put their heating on. Can’t live off the pension they worked hard to save for. Can’t even begin to dream about ever having a holiday. Ever. Because life has changed. Instead of working for a nice life, we’re working to line the pockets of billionaires. We are being bled dry. I don’t think its extreme or radical to think working hard should get you a nice life. And if you’re not able to work, that you should still have a nice life.
And clearly, I am not the only person who thinks that. Because I’ve made clear my position and my commitment to working class communities- the community I am from. People in their thousands told me, on the doorsteps and at the ballot box- that we are sick of being let down and looked down on. That we are sick of our hard work making people rich.
I lived in this constituency at one of the most difficult and challenging periods of my life. I saw how strong the community was at holding things together. But I saw how much harder life is when the things around you are broken. The litter, the flytipping, the dirty air. And when I moved it became even clearer. And this is why I am fighting, for the community I lived in and still work in. Because I absolutely refuse to accept that we should ever have to move and leave our communities for good schools, a thriving high street and clean air. I will not accept a society where having more money gets you a longer life expectancy.
And so when it came to fighting for people here. To stand in this election. Well how could I not fight? Because here - this is what we do. We fight for each other. In this very diverse constituency, where our struggles may not always be the same- but where we know how hard life can be. And we stick together. Whatever our beliefs, our backgrounds, our colour or our level of education. We stick up for each other.
To those who voted for me - I know earning your trust starts now. One vote on one night is not something I will take for granted or assume will happen again. I will earn your trust. And to those who didnt vote for me - I will always work hard for you, and I will always be honest, and I will always be decent.
To our Muslim communities, who this week suffered an attempted attack during Ramadan. Whilst I was being welcomed by women at a mosque in Longsight, someone just down the road walked in to a mosque carrying an axe. Whilst we were gathered, and eating together - an act of terror could easily have taken place. And I can’t and won’t accept this tonight without calling out the politicians and divisive figures who constantly scapegoat and blame our communities for all the problems in society. My Muslim friends and neighbours are just like me, human.
And of course, to our white working class communities. The background that I have become proud to be from. We know how it feels to be looked down on. Maybe because we didn’t do well at school. Because we do dirty, manual jobs. Because we are shut out of places we should be in. To people in Denton, who feel left behind and isolated. I see you. And I will fight for you.
Because whilst our communities may sometimes be labelled in different ways. The thing everyone seems to have underestimated here, is how similar we all actually are. How we have common ground. How we get along, how we stand up for each other. The cracks that were starting to show, can be healed. And I believe that is through offering people hope, and a chance to do things differently. Do things better.
And to Layla. The little girl who I had the pleasure of meeting, and holding, this week. I promised you I would try and improve the world you are growing up in. I told you I am not perfect, but that I always try my best. I always try and do the right thing.
We have shown we don’t have to accept being turned against each other. We can demand better. Together. We have shown we don’t have to fight dirty to fight for change. We ran a hopeful campaign backed by thousands of volunteers and activists. We defeated the parties of billionaire donors.Something exciting is happening - and I invite you to be part it. Come and join the Green party so we can spread hope and win everywhere else across the country too. Our strength will grow as more and more of us we come together.
And we did this, side by side, shoulder to shoulder. Just as we have always done in this constituency. Because this is Manchester. And we do things differently here.
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, has issued a statement about the byelection accusing Labour of creating “the monster of harvesting Muslim community bloc votes”.
A statement on the Gorton and Denton by-election result. pic.twitter.com/BSNYguF9EN
— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) February 27, 2026
This is similar to the allegation being made by Reform UK. (See 5.09am.)
There are some instances of electoral fraud in the UK. But they are very rare, and our elections are generally acknowledged to be free and fair. Critics would argue that the Tory/Reform UK complaints of sectarian voting have a racist element. Badenoch has spent the last year trying to harvest community bloc votes from farmers, and no one has complained about that.
Guardian Newsroom: Can Labour come back from the brink?
Shortly before the local elections the Guardian is hosting a debate at the Conway Hall in London on whether Labour can come back from the brink. It is on Monday 30 April and the speakers are Gaby Hinsliff, Zoe Williams, Polly Toynbee and Rafael Behr who will be discussing the threat to Labour from both the Green party and Reform and whether Keir Starmer can survive as Labour leader? There are details here, including information about how to buy tickets.
And this is what Hannah Spencer said at the press conference this morning when asked if she thought she would have won standing against Andy Burnham.
If [Burnham] had stood I think we would have had a harder fight, but I think we possibly still would have won it.
We’ve heard from so many people that they are so angry at Labour and have been for a very long time, that him standing as a Labour politician would not have helped in his campaign to be elected here and would have really gone against him.
Polanski gave a similar answer. See 10.57am.
Updated
At his press conference Zack Polanski, the Green leader, said trying to get MPs from other parties to defect to his party is not a priority.
Asked if was seeking defections, he said:
My priority right now actually is scoping out where might the [next] likely byelection be about to happen and how do we make sure we’re on the ground as quickly as possible to make sure we can repeat this as many times as we need to. Also a relentless focus on local elections and the Senedd.
Any MP who shares our values, I’m always open to those conversations, but quite frankly, it’s just not something I’m craving at this point because, actually, I want to win Green MPs but I want to do it on the ground in the same way that we just did it last night.
While several sitting Tory MPs, and more ex-Tory MPs, have defected to Reform UK, there are few, if any, Labour MPs who are seen as potential defectors to the Green party. That is partly because the two parties have very different internal cultures, and a history of sometimes-bitter rivalry.
Did Starmer get the message? - snap verdict on PM's response to byelection defeat
Keir Starmer has probably made his standing in the Labour party worse with the response to the byelection defeat he gave in a short broadcast interview this morning. (See 11.18am.)
Sam Coates from Sky News was doing the interview, but it was a pooled clip, shared with other broadcasters. These clips are always short; they don’t allow time for in-depth questioning, and they are intended to produce a headline quote for use on the TV news.
And, normally in these circumstances, the most important thing for a PM whose party has lost badly to say is: “I get it, I heard what you had to say, I’m listening.” Sound humble and chastened is the usual advice from the comms team. It is a script that has been followed by leaders of all parties over the years.
But Starmer did not adopt this stance. And he adopted three further positions that will only revive fears that, in fact, he doesn’t get it.
First, he tried to play down the significance of the defeat by suggesting it was a relatively standard reversal for a governing party mid-term. (See 11.18am.) It wasn’t. As this Sky News graphic illustrates, it was the seventh largest Labour majority overturned at a byelection.
Second, Starmer did not give any indication that he intends to change the way he governs. Some Labour MPs are assertively demanding a new approach. Following a defeat on this scale, sometimes prime ministers do recalibrate; it is not reasonable to expect full details hours after a defeat, but it is not unusual for a leader to deliver the ‘we hear what you say’ line with a change of tack implied. Alternative, leaders say they need to do better, and to deliver change further and faster (a line Starmer and his ministers have delivered in the past).
When Coates challenged Starmer on this, and asked him why he was not offering change, Starmer he replied:
We were elected into government to change millions of lives for the better. That’s why we’ve already passed the Renters’ Rights Act. Better rights for renters that haven’t been there for a generation.
It was if he he heard the word “change” and reverted to another pre-programmed line to take, missing the point that Coates was making.
Third, Starmer revived Labour’s campaign claim about the Greens being extremist. (See 11.33am.) This obviously failed to work for Labour in Gorton and Denton. And if Starmer had been watching Zack Polanski and Hannah Spencer at their press conference a few minutes earlier, he might have paused to reconsider. Polanski is not Jeremy Corbyn. And trying to depict Spencer as an extremist is a total lost cause, as will be obvious to anyone who heard even a short clip of her victory speech. (See 8.29am.)
UPDATE: Here is a clip of Starmer’s response.
Updated
Starmer describes Greens as 'the extremes of the left' in response to byelection defeat
In his pooled interview clip Keir Starmer doubled down on the anti-Green party language he was using during the byelection campaign.
Referring to Reform UK and the Greens, he said:
We were fighting the extremes of the right and the extremes of the left.
He also said Labour was up against “Reform on the right, with their politics of hatred and division, the Greens on the left, with their politics of getting out of Nato in the middle of the conflict with Ukraine, of legalising all drugs, including heroin and crack cocaine to give to adults”.
They were “the extremes in politics”, he said, referring to both parties, claiming that they could “identify the grievances” but that they could not unite the county and solve problems.
Updated
Leishman says byelection result shows Anas Sarwar right to say Starmer should quit
Severin Carrell is the Guardian’s Scotland editor.
Brian Leishman, the Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, and a constant critic of Starmer, has accused the prime minister of being selfish and politically inept by refusing to allow Manchester mayor Andy Burnham from standing in the byelection.
Speaking outside Scottish Labour’s one-day spring conference in Paisley, Leishman said:
It shows that the prime minister was firstly selfish in blocking Andy Burnham from standing, because Andy Burnham was the very best option we had of retaining the seat, and it is, make no mistake about it, a safe seat - if there is such a thing. It’s been Labour for generations.
We have lost that because the prime minister and the people that advise him have courted Reform voters. This political idea that we can out-Reform Reform – and that’s what the nation firstly wants, but also needs – is completely wrong. The solutions for the societal problems that we have had after 14 years of austerity can all be found in leftwing proper Labour party values.
The prime minister, I fear, is unable and incapable of actually delivering those Labour party values. He should step down. [I] think he needs to live by his own mantra of putting country before party. And if he resigns, he can actually prioritise both.
Leishman said Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, was right in calling earlier in February for Starmer to quit. Sarwar is facing an uphill battle to win this May’s Holyrood elections after seeing Labour’s support in Scotland plummet as voters punish the party for Starmer’s mistakes.
Let me agree with Anas and everyone in Scottish Labour, this is about Scotland. This is what the Holyrood elections have got to be about. It’s not a judgement on Kier Starmer. It’s not a judgment on our first 19 months in government, which, again, I have said, has been nowhere near good enough and not up to Labour party values.
But Anas is absolutely Scotland’s best bet for a new direction and to actually give the country the renewal it needs because we are closing in now on two decades of SNP failures.
Updated
Starmer calls byelection result 'very disappointing', but claims mid-term defeats like this not unusual
Keir Starmer has done a pooled clip for broadcasters about the Gorton and Denton byelection result. In his opening statement he said:
It’s a very disappointing result.
Incumbent governments quite often get results like that mid-term.
But I do understand that voters are frustrated. They’re impatient for change.
And I came into politics – late in life as it happens – to fight for change for those people who need it, the people who need an NHS that works for them, to be able to get a doctor’s appointment when they need it, to get the money they need in their pockets to pay their bills, and to have a decent and better life.
I will keep on fighting for those people for as long as I’ve got breath in my body.
I will also fight against the extremes in politics on the right and the left, parties who want to tear our country apart.
The Labour party is the only party that can unite our country and our communities, and we will line up together in that fight against the extremes of the left and the right.
Polanski said he did not expect people to agree with the Green party on everything.
One of my favourite phrases is, if you agree with us on seven out of 10 things, then vote for us, join the party.
If you agree with us on 10 out of 10 things, that’s a bit weird.
He also said he thought it was important for the national conversation that people did not agree with each other all the time.
Polanski says, even with Andy Burnham as Labour's candidate, Greens could have won
Q: Would you have won if Andy Burnham had been Labour’s candidate?
Polanski said he and Spencer both changed their views on this as the contest went on.
He said, when Burnham was blacked, he “punched the air” because thought that meant the Greens could win.
But, as the contest went on, he became less convinced that Burnham would have won.
Having seen the anger out on the streets about the Labour party, Andy Burnham is still a Labour politician. And I would say, no matter how popular you are, no matter even if you have some of the right positions, I think people in this country are looking at Labour MPs or high-profile Labour politicians and saying, where are your red lines?
Polanski claims Greens have more members than Labour if Scotland included
Polanski said that, taking into account Scotland, the Greens have more members than Labour. He said:
When you look at membership numbers, we’re so close to 200,000.
By the way, 200,000 is Green party membership for England and Wales. It doesn’t include Scotland. If you included Scottish Greens, we’ve already taken overtaken the UK Labour party.
But Polanski also admitted that the a current, up-to-date membership total for the Labour party is not available.
Polanski is the leader of the Green party of England and Wales. The Scottish Greens are a separate party.
Updated
Polanski accuses Starmer of trivialising serious issue with drugs policy attacks, saying public 'more mature' on this
Back at the Green press conference, Zack Polanski criticised Labour for the way it attacked the Greens over their plans to legalise drugs. He said drugs were a serious issue. He went on:
We have the highest death rate from drugs in the whole of Europe.
And Keir Starmer, rather than taking a public health approach or looking at harm reduction, thought it sensible to make cheap political attacks.
Now that’s all water under the bridge because Hannah’s sat here as the MP.
But I do hope this Labour government will reflect on how they’ve conducted themselves during this campaign, how they’ve taken some really serious issues, trivialised them and made them into cheap political points.
Whereas actually, I think the public are in a lot more mature and nuanced place than sometimes politicians who have been around for too long and … don’t have the courage to lead.
This is from Kevin Schofield from HuffPost UK quoting a Labour MP responding to what Heidi Alexander said earlier. (See 8.08am.)
A Labour MP texts: "Isn't much to interpret. He's burying the Labour Party." pic.twitter.com/GuJjXee8qX
— Kevin Schofield (@KevinASchofield) February 27, 2026
Polanski and Spencer then took questions.
Q: What do you say to accusations you were playing sectarian politics?
Spencer said the Greens were doing what they always do, trying to unite people.
And she said she was proud of the fact that she united different groups.
We unite people on the shared common ground and the beliefs that we all have. I’m really proud here that our communities, our backgrounds, may be different sometimes, but we are genuinely united over that common feeling of struggling, and struggling together and sticking up for each other.
Spencer says this was the Greens’ 127th target seats.
That means there are 126 seats where the Greens could win on a smaller swing.
She says the party is on track to make “big gains” in the May elections.
Hannah Spencer says voters in Gorton and Denton have 'rejected hate' and embraced hope
Hannah Spencer starts with thanks to people who helped her to get elected. She says she is honoured, and promises to work “so hard” for the people who elected her.
I can’t wait to get started and work to influence policy that makes lives better for people like us, to bring down the cost of living, introduce rent controls, and get the litter and fly tipping off our streets.
She criticises Reform UK as a party “that dances to the tune of their billionaire donors” and Labour as a party that “stooped so incredibly low”.
She goes on:
I don’t want to dwell on it for too long, but I have been appalled at some of the divisive, dog-whistling campaigning from other parties.
I know in my heart – and everyone knows here – everybody here belongs, everybody deserves to have their needs met, everyone deserves a voice in our democracy.
And today, the people here in this constituency have sent a very clear message. We’ve rejected hate and embraced the politics of hope – not blind hope, hope that is rooted in an ambitious but very achievable plan to transform our country for the better.
Zack Polanski and Hannah Spencer hold press conference
Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, and Hannah Spencer, the new Green MP for Gorton and Denton, are now holding a press confernce.
Polanski starts by restating his claim that there are now no no-go areas for the Greens. (See 7.53am.)
He says there are 70 days to go until the local elections.
And the Greens have lots of other candidates like Hannah Spencer, he claims.
And he claims Labour is now facing an existential crisis.
Labour MP Brian Leishman calls for Starmer to resign
The Scottish Labour MP Brian Leishman has called for Keir Starmer to stand down. In a post on social media, he said:
The blame lies with Starmer & the people that surround him. Blocking Burnham was wrong & he did it for his own benefit.
The political idea that we should try & out-Reform Reform is wrong & been rejected.
Time he did the right thing for the country & the Labour Party, and go.
Leishman was one of four Labour MPs who had the whip suspended for a few months last year for disloyal conduct summed up, according to one unnamed Labour source, as “persistent knobheadery”.
Rayner says byelection defeat shows Labour needs to be 'braver'
Angela Rayner, the former deputy PM and a leading candidate to replace Keir Starmer in the event of a leadership contest, has posted a message on social media saying Labour has to be '“braver” in the light of the byelection defeat.
This result must be a wake up call. It’s time to really listen - and to reflect.
Voters want the change that we promised - and they voted for.
If we want to unrig the system, if we want to make the change we were sent into Government to make, we have to be braver.
A labour agenda that puts people first.
That’s what all of us across our movement need to rededicate ourselves to this morning.
SNP claims Labour now facing 'historic defeat' in Scotland
Just as Plaid Cyrmu believe the Gorton and Denton byelection result bodes well for them in the Senedd elections in May, the SNP has welcomed it too. Scottish parliamentary elections are taking place in May too and the SNP is now quite confident about seeing off the Labour threat.
This is from Pete Wishart, the SNP’s deputy leader at Westminster.
This result is a resounding rejection of Keir Starmer’s Labour party - it is a rejection that will be repeated in Scotland come May 7th when voters here will get their chance to cast their verdict on a Labour Party that promised ‘change’ but has only delivered chaos.
A Labour party now defined by their broken promises will be fully deserving of the historic defeat Scottish voters are waiting to give them.
Here is a Guardian panel with analysis of the Gorton and Denton byelection result, with contributions from Polly Toynbee, Adam Ramsay, Remi Joseph-Salisbury and Henry Hill.
And here is an extract from Polly’s assessment.
Labour’s prospects for May’s elections plunged even lower last night. A Green party that once seemed flaky will now often look like the safer anti-Reform vote if they can field more pitch-perfect candidates like Hannah Spencer: plumber, councillor, all-round good sort. Her honeyed victory words will soften many a Labour voter’s heart. She is a leftist without the bilious fist-shaking of the old sectarian socialists: “Instead of working for a nice life, we’re working to line the pockets of billionaires. We are being bled dry … I think that absolutely everybody should get a nice life.” Nice. Byelections are often no guide to a general election three years away, but the trouncing of Farage may make this one historic.
Momentum, the leftwing Labour group, has issued a statement saying that the party needs a change of direction after the byelection defeat and that “control-freakery, top-down politics and political timidity” have all been problems.
Losing Gorton and Denton could not be a bigger warning: it's time for a change in direction.
— Momentum 🌹 (@PeoplesMomentum) February 27, 2026
Read our statement below ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/mgIj9Txydx
Labour MP Jon Trickett says Starmer should 'reflect on his position' following byelection defeat
The Labour MP Jon Trickett has said that Keir Starmer should “reflect on his own position”.
Speaking to Times Radio, Trickett said:
My experience is that people are fed up with the fact that we aren’t delivering change. Now, it’s up to Keir Starmer to look in the mirror and make a decision about his own personal future, because obviously it’s important to be a prime minister, but it’s more important to deliver justice and fairness in a society that is really crippled by the lack of fairness and justice. Social equality has gone out the window. People are living in poverty or on the edge of poverty, millions of people. And they’re looking, they look for Labour for change and they haven’t yet seen it …
I think [the byelection result] signals a bigger change in the way that people see the country, its politics and its leaders, and Labour absolutely must reflect on this in a serious way. And that does mean, I’m afraid, that the prime minister needs to reflect on his own position.
When politicians say a leader should reflect on their position, they don’t mean that they should reflect and then conclude that it is right to stay.
Trickett is on the left of the PLP, has never been a leading member of the Starmer fan club, and so in some respects these comments are not surprising. Many Labour MPs would say the same in private. But there have not been many Labour MPs saying this publicly.
Updated
Plaid Cymru welcomes Gorton and Denton byelection result as evidence 'old guard' parties are 'slipping away'
Steven Morris is a Guardian reporter covering Wales.
The leader of Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth, has said the Gorton and Denton result shows the “old guard are slipping away”. By old guard, he means Labour and the Tories.
Ap Iorwerth is the favourite to become first minister of Wales at the Senedd (Welsh parliament) elections in May, ending 100 years of Labour dominance here, and the party will relish being in the spotlight for two days at their spring conference starting today.
When he speaks at the conference this afternoon, ap Iorwerth will claim the May election is a stark choice between Plaid and Reform UK, which polls suggest are coming second.
He will say:
We offer hope - hope that can overcome people’s fears of other political forces leading Wales down a dark path. Hope that things can get better for our health service, that our elderly relatives won’t have to wait so long for treatment or that the burden of childcare costs on our sons and daughters’ household budgets will be eased.
And hope that, finally, Wales will have a government willing to stand up to Keir Starmer, to Jo Stevens [secretary of state for Wales] and anyone else denying our nation the fairness it deserves.
The Gorton and Denton result has echoes of what happened at the Caerphilly byelection last year when Plaid won, pushing Reform into second place and Labour third.
There have been interesting comments, too, from the leader of the Greens in Wales, Anthony Slaughter, on BBC Wales. Asked if he saw Plaid as rivals or allies, he said: “On this issue in standing up to Reform, we are allies.”
Whether that opens the door for Plaid and the Greens cooperating at the Senedd elections – perhaps in a very loose way – so as not to split the progressive vote remains to be seen.
Heidi Alexander says Britons don't want Polanski as PM, and Green policies won't 'survive contact with national electorate'
Alexander said that, when she heard Hannah Spencer’s victory speech (see 8.29am), she thought it was very similar to what she said when she was elected in 2024.
We are committed to delivering change for this country. We inherited public services that were on their knees, school roofs were collapsing, buildings were crumbling. People couldn’t get an NHS dentist and were having to pull their own teeth out. We saw high streets that are run down.
Now, I understand that when there’s a byelection and people are looking in their bank account at the end of the month and they’re still struggling to pay their bills and to make ends meet, they feel frustration with the governing party, they feel impatient. And I share that impatience about improving lives for the mainstream majority in this country.
She also insisted that the byelection result did not show there was a “mainstream majority” for making Zack Polanski, or Nigel Farage, PM. She said:
What I cannot accept is that there is a direct read across from the results of this byelection, where people voted for a Green MP in Gorton and Denton, and the outcome of the next general election, because I don’t believe that that result yesterday suggests that there’s a mainstream majority for Zack Polanski being the next prime minister, or for that matter Nigel Farage.
And I don’t think the offer of the Green party will survive contact with the national electorate. Let’s remember that they are a party that are soft on defence.
Heidi Alexander says it's 'offensive' for Unite boss Sharon Graham to claim ministers obsessed with their 'rich mates'
Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, was asked about Sharon Graham’s “rich mates” jibe in an interview on the Today programme. (See 8.39am.) You could hear the anger in her voice as she replied:
I’m sorry, but I totally find it offensive that I should be told stop listening to your rich mates – of which I don’t have many – because I spend every single weekend of my life knocking on doors in Swindon talking to people who voted for me to be their Labour MP at the last general election.
Updated
These are from my colleague Jessica Elgot on the byelection result.
The Green victory in Denton is the result which will have a far
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) February 27, 2026
greater effect on Labour than a Reform win
The blithe assumption progressives have nowhere else to go has been proved catastrophically wrong.
Can’t help thinking of this quote from a Labour minister, a year ago… pic.twitter.com/6DXtPJCO8I
Labour MPs on the ground yesterday said previous Labour voters started going Green very late, and remonstrated with them on the doorstep about potentially letting in a Reform MP. One minister said they were repeatedly told off for not “sorting out” only one option against Reform
Until yesterday, Labour really thought the seat was very winnable according to their own data. In the end it wasn’t even that close. They just never took it seriously that their own past voters would vote tactically for another party.
And this is from Patrick Wintour, the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, and former political editor.
Nick Robinson on BBC fairly said many will dismiss the Gorton & Denton result by pointing to a “large Muslim vote still motivated and angry about what happened in Gaza”. Many are wrong.
It is not just Muslims that are motivated by the treatment of Palestinians, and these voters are not just angry about what happened in Gaza, but about what is happening in Gaza.
Maybe this vote is not as big as the stop the boats lot, but Gaza is still a large part of what is driving the alienation from Labour. Little sign in the foreign office or No 10 of any recognition of this.
Here is Kiran Stacey’s analysis of the byelection result.
And here is an extract.
Hannah Spencer’s victory, with a majority of 4,402 votes over Reform, gives the Greens their fifth Westminster MP – 120 miles away from the next closest Green seat, proving the party can now win outside of its cluster of southern support. She told supporters at the vote count on Friday morning: “To people here in Gorton and Denton who feel left behind and isolated, I see you and I will fight for you.”
The Green party vote share of 41% is four times bigger than their previous best byelection result, and the increase in their vote is five times larger than they have achieved in any byelection since 2010.
Officials for the Greens and Labour said there had been a shift among Muslim voters, with many mentioning Starmer’s positions on Gaza as a key reason for moving away from Labour.
Spencer sought to capitalise on this with a campaign that targeted Muslim voters, including with videos in Urdu, in an echo of Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign in New York. “I can’t and won’t accept this victory tonight without calling out the politicians and divisive figures who constantly scapegoat and blame our communities for all the problems in society,” she said from the count. “My Muslim friends and neighbours are just like me: human.”
Mainstream, a new centre-left Labour group backed by Andy Burnham, has issued a statement saying that the byelection result was an “absolute disaster” and the party needs a “fundamental reset”.
In a statement, its interim council said:
The Gorton and Denton result is an absolute disaster for Labour. Clearly, we now risk no longer being seen as the natural home for progressive voters.
This loss was avoidable. Angeliki [Stogia, the Labour candidate], members and our party staff worked tirelessly, but our leader and sections of the NEC blocked the one candidate who could have won it for us. That decision now looks like a catastrophic error.
We need an immediate and fundamental reset now.
Unite's general secretary Sharon Graham tells Starmer to stop listening to 'rich mates' and govern as 'real Labour'
Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary, has issued a statement saying that the byelection result shows why Keir Starmer should “stop listening to [his] rich mates” and start governing as ‘real Labour”. She says:
If Labour needed any further wake up calls - this is clearly one. Labour need to now ditch the gimmicks and get back to being Labour - not new, not one that plays games, but real Labour.
Workers and families are hurting. We have a cost of living crisis largely being ignored and investment in jobs for the here-and-now being blocked by a Treasury that doesn’t seem to understand the basics of what is needed to build Britain.
Stop listening your rich mates and start listening to everyday people.
At the time of the last election Unite was an outlier among the Labour-affiliated unions because Graham was not fully supportive of Keir Starmer in the way other general secretaries were. But now Unison’s new general secretary, Andrea Egan, is making the arguments that Graham has making for some time (see 6.50am), and some Labour MPs are also becoming increasingly vocal in calling for a shift to the left.
'We're working to line pockets of billionaires' - Hannah Spencer's victory speech
Hannah Spencer, the new Green MP for Gorton and Denton, is getting a lot of praise for her victory speech. We have covered extracts from it earlier, but here is a fuller version.
I didn’t grow up wanting to be a politician. I am a plumber.
I am no different to every single person here in this constituency. I work hard. That is what we do.
Except things have changed a lot over the last few decades, because working hard used to get me something.
It got you a house, a nice life, holidays, it got you somewhere.
But now, working hard, what does that get you?
Because life has changed. Instead of working for a nice life, we’re working to line the pockets of billionaires. We are being bled dry.
People in their thousands told me, on the doorstep and at the ballot box, that what we are sick of is being let down and looked down on.
That we are sick of our hard work making other people rich …
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.
My Muslim friends and neighbours are just like me, human.
Now, to my customers, I’m sorry, but I think I might have to cancel the work that you haven’t booked in, because I’m heading to parliament.
And when I get there, I will make space for everyone doing jobs like mine,
We will finally get a seat at the table.
We can demand better without hating each other.
We ran a hopeful campaign backed by thousands of volunteers and activists.
We defeated the parties of billionaire donors.
Because this is Manchester. We do things differently here.
UPDATE: See 12.45pm for the full text.
Updated
Reform UK chair David Bull says his party accepts legitimacy of byelection result - after Farage earlier alleged 'cheating'
David Bull, the Reform UK chair, told the Today programme that his party was not contesting the legitimacy of the byelection result.
In a statement issued soon after the result was announced, Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, described the Green party win as “a victory for sectarian voting and cheating”. (See 5.09am.)
Asked what Farage was referring to, Bull complained that the Greens had distributed election leaflets in Urdu. He said they included “false statements” about his party, and he questioned whether this was good for “community cohesiveness”.
He also referred to the statement issued by the group Democracy Volunteers last night claiming they had witnessed incidents of “family voting” at polling stations – individuals being accompanied into the polling booth by a family member, raising concerns they were being told how to vote. Bull said this was illegal and should be “stamped out”.
But, asked if he thought this family voting issue could have affected the result, Bull replied:
If I’m being candid, probably not.
And, asked if Reform UK was challenging the legitimacy of the election result, he replied:
No. And I think it’s really important that we stand back and look at all of this with cool, clear heads. We’ve all been up all night, and so any rash decision would be a bad decision, in my humble opinion.
When it was put to him that Hannah Spencer, the new Green MP, focused on cost of living issues in her victory speech, echoing some of the things Reform UK was saying, Bull accepted this point. But he also claimed these were not the issues the Greens were actually campaigning on.
Heidi Alexander urges Labour not to 'over-interpret result' and says party can recover from this defeat
Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, has been giving interviews on behalf of the government this morning. Speaking to Times Radio, she urged colleagues in her party not to “over-interpret the result”.
She said:
There is not a direct read-across from what happens in by elections, where there are some quite unique dynamics at play, and then what happens in a general election.
And whilst people in Gorton and Denton yesterday may have voted for a Green member of parliament, that doesn’t then mean that a majority of people in this country want to vote for Zack Polanski to be their prime minister, or for that matter, for Nigel Farage to be their prime minister …
We shouldn’t over-interpret this result, and just because we had the result that we did last night, doesn’t mean to say … that the party can’t recover from this.
Polanski rejects claim Greens were being sectarian in using picture of Starmer with Modi in byelection leaflet
In the Today interview, Nick Robinson put it to Zack Polanski that the Greens distributing leaflets showing Keir Starmer with the Indian PM Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist, in a constituency with a large Muslim population, could be seen as sectarianism.
Polanski did not accept that. He said that he was one of only five Jewish people to lead a British political party, and he said he took antisemitism as seriously as Islamaphobia. He said the party was making a point about Modi’s human rights record.
When it was put to him that it was Starmer’s job to have good relations with with other foreign leaders, Polanski claimed that Starmer was going beyond that, and he accused him of having “cosy relationships” with leaders like Benjamin Netanyahu.
Polanski says Gorton and Denton win shows there are now 'no no-go areas' for Greens
Zack Polanski, the Green leader, has been interview by Nick Robinson on the Today programme.
Polanski said Gorton and Denton was his party’s 127th target seat. He said there were now “no no-go areas” for the Greens.
Q: Hannah Spencer in her victory speech talked about people who work hard but do not get rewarded. How would you change that?
Polanski says he would distribute wealth more fairly.
People are really struggling. And we know the biggest problem at the heart of all of this is inequality.
We’re living through decades where rich people have got richer and richer, and the gap has got wider than ever before. So it’s time to redistribute that wealth and power.
So, for instance, we’ve been proposing a wealth tax, but also we want to look more widely at things like making sure that students aren’t saddled with debt for decades and decades.
When Robinson put it to him that a wealth tax would just lead to wealthy people leaving the country, Polanski said that the Greens were proposing a 1% tax on assets of £10m or more, or 2% on £1bn or more.
He said Switzerland has a wealth tax and “is literally famous for having wealthy people in it”.
Labour MP says result 'catastrophic' and Starmer should revert to Corbynite agenda that won him party leadership
The Labour MP Karl Turner has described the Gorton and Denton byelection result as “catastrophic” for his party in an interview on the Today programme. Turner is not a regular leftwing critic of the party’s leadership, like Richard Burgon (see 7.03am), but he has recently become very outspoken because he is leading the fight against the plan to restrict jury trials.
Here are some extracts from his interview.
Turner said the result was “catastrophic”.
It’s catastrophic isn’t it? That’s the truth. It couldn’t be any worse. Having the greens in Manchester is the worst result we could have expected or we wanted.
He said that Andy Burnham should have been allowed to stand as the candidate in the seat.
He said Labour would be wrong to write this off as a standard, mid-term defeat for a governing party.
He said that he agreed with the Unison leader Andrea Egan’s argument about Labour needing to be more leftwing. (See 6.50am.) Asked about her comments, he said:
The reality is we can’t possibly out-rightwing Reform on immigration and we can’t out-leftwing the Greens on progressive policy. That’s our problem.
If we started to be Labour, we might sort of have a bit of a chance.
Asked what that would look like, he replied:
It looks like socialism to me … that’s what I think it looks like. I’ll tell you what it isn’t; it’s not doing away with juries in criminal proceedings. That’s the type of stuff we’re doing without rolling the pitch that takes Labour MPs by surprise, puts us in a position where we have to vote against our own government without any discussion. That’s the stuff that’s been happening. It’s got to stop.
He said Starmer needed to “get a grip”. He did not call for a new leader. He said, if you look at alternative candidates, “there’s a problem with everybody”.
But he said that Starmer should pursue leftwing policies, like a wealth tax. When it was put to him that voters rejected these ideas when Jeremy Corbyn was leader, Turner said that was because Corbyn was leader. When it was put to him that he seemed to be calling for “Corbyn’s policy, but Starmer in charge”, Turner replied:
That’s what we were promised. That is what [Morgan McSweeney] set Stamer up to be. He was going to be the Jeremy Corbyn, but the electable version; 25 minutes after he was got elected as leader. Labour MPs are cheesed off not just because of what’s happened in the last 18 months of a Labour government, [but] because of the last four years.
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Here is a Guardian graphic showing how the vote share changed in the byelection.
Labour has 'fallen into electoral Valley of Death' - what polling experts are saying about Gorton and Denton result
Here are three elections specialists on the significance of the Gorton and Denton result.
Prof John Curtice, the BBC’s elections expert, says in a BBC article that the result is not just a reflection on Labour’s performance since 2024.
Yet it would be a mistake to believe the result in Gorton and Denton simply reflects disappointment with the leadership he and his government have provided since the 2024 election.
Rather the by-election confirmed the message of the 2024 election that two of the key foundations of Labour’s traditional electoral coalition have crumbled away.
Labour could once be assured in Gorton and Denton of the support of, first, less well-off working class voters and, second, those from a minority background, both of which are especially numerous in the constituency and both of which were until recently bastions of support for Labour across the country as a whole.
However, the last remnants of Labour’s relative strength among working class voters across Britain disappeared at the 2019 general election - and they failed to return in 2024. Now it is Reform that is especially successful at appealing to such voters.
Rob Ford, a politics professor who lives in the constituency next door to Gorton and Denton, says the result suggests Labour has fallen into an “electoral Valley of Death”.
Gorton and Denton first thoughts - incredible result for Greens who won long battle to be best placed anti-Reform candidate - helped by being the obvious anti-Labour candidate for disappointed progressives. As I noted in the Observer last month, a Revolt on the Left is growing
As I noted in my Swingometer profile of the seat this result - Green win over Reform with Lab 3rd - is the nightmare scenario for the incumbent govt. They have fallen into the electoral Valley of Death. Rejected in the centre. Rejected on the right. And now rejected on the left
This May’s local & devolved elecs - which already looked set to be grim for Labour - may become apocalyptic if the Greens surge in the wake of this victory. So many Labour seats in Green friendly territory are up - all seats in inner London & many metros
Labour risk being wiped out by Reform in the ‘red wall’ type metros - Barnsley, Calderdale, Wakefield, Sunderlands etc - & being wiped out by the Greens in what we may now need to start calling the ‘Green wall’ - diverse, student & grad heavy Lab areas where Reform are no threat
Peter Kellner, the former YouGov president, says in a post on his Substack blog that Labour is heading for “dreadful trouble” in the local elections.
For Labour the result is plainly catastrophic. Indeed, its 25.3 point drop since 2024 understates the scale of its disaster. In 2019 it won 67.2 per cent, then lost 16.5 percentage points in 2024, mainly due to the intervention of the Workers Party. In as far as Muslim voters have deserted Labour, much of the desertion had already happened two years ago. What happened last night cannot be fully explained by Gaza.
Nor does a fall in turnout explain Labour’s plight. This has often been cited in the past to argue that supporters stay at home in the by-election but return to the fold for the following general election. This time, turnout was almost the same as in 2024. To be sure, some former Labour voters will have stayed at home, while Reform and the Greens picked up some new voters. But the lion’s share of Labour’s 9,000 lost votes did not stay away: they switched to other parties.
There is quite separate evidence of the depth of the hole in which Labour now finds itself. Week after week by-elections are held for local councils. More than 200 have been held since last May. Greg Cook, Labour’s former head of political strategy, and Mark Pack, a Lib Dem peer and meticulous number cruncher, tell the same story. Labour has failed to gain a single seat, and lost three-quarters of the seats it was defending.
If the local elections this May show anything like this pattern of gains and losses, Labour will be in even more dreadful trouble.
Labour MP Richard Burgon says 'Starmer and his clique' to blame for Labour's defeat
Richard Burgon, who is secretary of the Socialist Campaign group in parliament, which represents leftwing Labour MPs, has blamed “Keir Starmer and his clique” for Labour’s defeat and said the party must respond by shifting left.
In a statement, he said:
Blame for Labour’s defeat lies squarely with Keir Starmer and his clique.
They put factional interests over having the candidate best placed to win, Andy Burnham.
If Labour is to be the “Stop Reform” party, then the leadership must stop treating progressive voters with contempt - and start appealing to them.
That means a return to real Labour values - through policies like a Wealth Tax, public ownership of energy and water, and an ethical foreign policy that are all popular with the public.
And it means ditching the approach of trying to ape Reform and kicking the left, that has alienated so many people who have voted Labour previously.
It is worth pointing out that some of Starmer’s “clique” have already gone; Morgan McSweeney left his post as the PM’s chief of staff at No 10 earlier this month, and the leadership team in No 10 is being reconstituted.
Greens dismiss Farage's response to Spencer's win as Trump-style attempt to undermine democratic result
The Green party has described Nigel Farage’s claim that it won because of “sectarian voting and cheating” (see 5.09am) as a Trump-style attempt to undermine the result of a democratic election.
A Green 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 byelection by a comfortable margin.
We’ve shown the country that Greens can beat Reform, despite their big business donations.
Labour 'failing on every count' under Starmer, says Unison leader Andrea Egan in call for party to shift left
Labour’s defeat in Gorton and Denton is likely to reignite calls for Keir Starmer to be replaced as leader. Lucy Powell, Labour’s deputy leader, appeared to anticipate this in comments earlier this morning, when she insisted that Starmer was “the person for the job”. (See 5.31pm.)
But this morning Andrea Egan, the relatively new leftwing general secretary of Unison, one of the two biggest unions backing Labour, said the party is “failing on every count” under Starmer. In a statement she said:
The Greens won for a simple reason. Many traditional Labour supporters, in Manchester and across the country, want to see progressive values robustly defended against the far-right, not gleefully abandoned.
A Labour government should be standing up for workers, defending migrants and refugees, and taking the fight to Nigel Farage rather than letting him set the agenda.
Under Keir Starmer the party is failing on every count, leaving the Greens to fill the vacuum.
Cosying up to the rich and powerful, and protecting their interests whilst attacking ordinary working people and the left has singularly failed. The prime minister is now reaping the electoral consequences of that strategy.
If the government wants to survive, it urgently needs to stand up for workers and defend our fundamental values.
Labour had 13th highest fall in support in byelection, says John Curtice, and Tories had worst ever byelection result
Prof Sir John Curtice, the BBC’s elections expert, says this is the first byelection in the modern era when neither Labour nor the Conservative party were in the top two (apart from one where Labour disowned their candidate). Here is an extract from his take for the BBC.
Rather than winning narrowly, the [Green party] won 40.7%, enough to put them as much as 12 points ahead of second placed Reform. It represented as much as a 27.5 point increase on the party’s share in 2024.
Labour, who had not hitherto lost an election in the area since 1931, fell into third place. The party’s 25.4% of the vote represented a near halving of their 50.8% of the vote in 2024 and the 13th biggest ever fall in the party’s support in a byelection.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives lost their deposit with just 1.9% of the vote, their worst ever byelection result.
Apart from the exceptional circumstances of the Rochdale by-election in 2024, when Labour disowned their candidate, leaving George Galloway to defeat a second-placed independent candidate, it is the first time that neither Labour nor the Conservatives have been one of the top two parties in a by-election contest.
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Losing Reform UK candidate Matt Goodwin claims result evidence of 'dangerous Muslim sectarianism' in UK
Matt Goodwin, the Reform UK candidate who was defeated, has issued a statement claiming that the byelection result was evidence of “dangerous Muslim sectarianism”. He said:
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.
It is difficult to know what this means beyond the fact that there are a large number of Muslims in Gorton and Denton and that they chose not to vote for Reform UK.
Speaking at the count, Goodwin explicitly accused the Green party of engaging in sectarian politics. He said:
We’ve not engaged in sectarian politics like the Greens. We’ve communicated in English on national language. We’ve not communicated in Urdu or Punjabi. We’ve actually talked about the issues that are facing local people. We didn’t prioritise Gaza.
Hannah Spencer, the new Green party MP for Gorton and Denton, has said that it was Reform UK that was engaging in divisive politics. (See 4.50am.) Reform puts opposition to immigrants at the heart of its platform.
Polanski says many ex-Labour voters will never return to Starmer's party, and Greens best party to defeat Reform
Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, has claimed that the Gorton and Denton result shows that the Labour party has lost some of its old voters for good and that voting Green is now the way to defeat Reform. In a statement he said:
This used to be one of Labour’s safest seats. In this by-election almost half of their 2024 voters abandoned them and many switched to voting Green, meaning they finished 3rd. The Green party saw a record-breaking swing in our direction and more than tripled our vote.
Labour fought a shameful, dirty campaign – spreading lies about Green policies and even faking a tactical voting website. They knew they couldn’t win, but they risked splitting the vote and letting Reform in.
People everywhere will now know that voting Green is the way to defeat Reform. Many ex-Labour voters told our canvassers that they will never go back to a party that supports genocide, fuels racism, and has failed to deliver on its promise to improve life for people across the country.
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Full results in Gorton and Denton byelection
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Adam Fulton.
So, in the end, it wasn’t even close.
Here are the detailed results from the Press Association.
Hannah Spencer (Green) 14,980 (40.69%, +27.53%)
Matt Goodwin (Reform) 10,578 (28.73%, +14.67%)
Angeliki Stogia (Lab) 9,364 (25.44%, -25.32%)
Charlotte Cadden (C) 706 (1.92%, -5.98%)
Jackie Pearcey (LD) 653 (1.77%, -2.05%)
Sir Oink A-Lot (Loony) 159 (0.43%)
Nick Buckley (Advance UK) 154 (0.42%)
Joseph O’Meachair (Rejoin) 98 (0.27%)
Dan Clarke (Libertarian) 47 (0.13%)
Sebastian Moore (Soc Dem) 46 (0.12%)
Hugo Wils (Comm Lge) 29 (0.08%)
Green maj 4,402 (11.96%)
26.43% swing Lab to Green
Electorate 77,501; Turnout 36,814 (47.50%, +0.70%)
2024: Lab maj 13,413 (36.69%) - Turnout 36,560 (46.80%)
Gwynne (Lab) 18,555 (50.75%); Moffitt (Reform) 5,142 (14.06%);
Gardner (Green) 4,810 (13.16%); Burney (WPB) 3,766 (10.30%); Welsh
(C) 2,888 (7.90%); Reid (LD) 1,399 (3.83%)
Labour says result 'clearly disappointing'
Labour party chairperson Anna Turley has called the Gorton and Denton result “clearly disappointing”.
Byelections were normally difficult for the party of government and this election was no different, she said.
“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.
“We will continue to deliver a programme for government that tackles the cost of living crisis families are facing, creates opportunities for young people and invests in our public services,” Turley said, quoted by PA Media.
The politics of anger and easy answers offered by the Greens and Reform won’t deliver this.
We will move forwards with a relentless focus on delivering the renewal communities across Britain want to see.
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Some images from the night as the Greens won the byelection, with Reform coming second and Labour pushed into third.
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Lucy Powell backs Starmer to stay as PM and Labour leader, saying he's 'right person' for job
More here from the Guardian’s North of England editor, Josh Halliday:
On voting day in the Gorton and Denton byelection Labour insiders had seemed more confident as polling showed they were virtually neck-and-neck with the Greens. They hoped voters might stick with Labour rather than back an insurgent party and risk a Reform win.
But the Greens’ energetic campaign – Hannah Spencer found near-instant local fame as “Hannah the plumber” while thousands of volunteers travelled from across the UK to support her – was enough to secure victory.
Labour sources said the party had not been forgiven by many of its Muslim voters for its stance on Gaza – an issue capitalised on by the Greens in the Manchester side of the constituency.
“Gaza has not been forgotten or forgiven,” said a Labour councillor in the constituency. “Lots of us are now worried for our seats”.
Labour’s deputy leader, Lucy Powell, said Starmer was “resolute in his job” when asked about the prime minister’s future.
I know that Keir is the right person for that job … This is about politics as well – we’ve got to get our politics clearer so people know that we are on their side, we are standing up for them.
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The Green party won 40.7% of the byelection vote while Reform finished second on 28.7% and Labour came third with 25.4%, according to agency reports.
Among those respective candidates, Hannah Spencer received 14,980 votes, Matthew Goodwin 10,578 and Angeliki Stogia 9,364.
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Farage claims Green party win was 'victory for sectarian voting and cheating'
Nigel Farage has responded to the byelection result, claiming on social media:
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.
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The Greens’ victory in a Labour stronghold is its first ever in a Westminster byelection and establishes the party as a serious political force and a credible anti-Reform alternative.
It will deepen concerns among Labour MPs that Keir Starmer’s party is haemorrhaging voters on the left in an effort to thwart the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform, reports Josh Halliday.
The result will also prompt further scrutiny of the prime minister’s decision to block Andy Burnham from standing as the Labour candidate in a city where he enjoys significant public support.
It is the first time in nearly 100 years that the Gorton area of Manchester has not been represented by a Labour MP.
See the full report here:
Here are some shots of Hannah Spencer after the historic byelection win for the Greens.
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Hannah Spencer, who had mentioned in the speech that she was a plumber, also said: “To many customers, I’m sorry, but I might have to cancel the work. Because I’m heading to parliament, and when I get there, I will make space for everyone doing jobs like mine.”
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Hannah Spencer hits out at Reform UK with attack on 'divisive' figures who scapegoat Muslims
Speaking from the podium, Spencer also said her victory had come off the back of people being desperate for change.
People in their thousands told me on the doorsteps, and at the ballot box, that what we are sick of is being let down and looked down on, and we are sick of our hard work making other people rich.
In what appeared to be a swipe at her Reform rival, she added:
I can’t and 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. My Muslim friends and neighbours are just like me – human.
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Hannah Spencer says in her victory speech that she is no different to anyone in her constituency – “I work hard, that is what we do”.
She says working hard used to get you somewhere but doesn’t now.
Instead of working for a nice life, we’re working to line the pockets of billionaires. We are being bled dry. And I don’t think i’is extreme or radical to think working hard should get you a nice life … I think that absolutely everybody should get a nice life.
And clearly I’m not the only person who thinks that. Because I’ve made clear my position and my commitment to working-class communities – the community that I am from.
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Tories claim result shows 'Starmer has killed Labour party'
Responding to the result, a Conservative spokesperson 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.
This result shows the Labour government now lacks any support in the country and has no mandate for the terrible policies it is pursuing - increasing the benefits bill, raising taxes, weakening our borders and the Armed Forces.
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Hannah Spencer is speaking on stage after her win and says she didn’t grow up wanting to be a politician – “I’m a plumber”.
Even in chaos, even under pressure, I get things done.
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The byelection candidates are on stage in Manchester and the returning officer is announcing the vote result
Green party's Hannah Spencer wins byelection
The Green party has pulled off a landmark victory in the Gorton and Denton byelection in a significant blow to Keir Starmer, Josh Halliday is reporting.
Hannah Spencer, a local plumber and Green party councillor, was elected as the party’s first MP in northern England after overturning Labour’s 13,000-vote majority.
Labour came third in the tightly contested race, while Reform UK finished second.
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Speaking to journalists a little earlier, Matt Goodwin said: “I don’t think the progressives beat us, I think the progressives were told how to vote.”
He said it was “a coalition of Islamists and woke progressives that came together to dominate the constituency”.
The byelection candidates look to be gathering around the stage at the Manchester convention centre ahead of the result.
The Green party candidate, Hannah Spencer, has arrived at the counting centre in Manchester.
More of the byelection’s 11 candidates have arrived at the Manchester Central venue as a result nears. Green candidate Hannah Spencer appears still to come. It’s 4.09am.
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Labour candidate Angeliki Stogia has arrived at the count, escorted by Lucy Powell, the deputy leader of the party.
They stood, along with other glum-looking Labour activists, arms folded, in one corner of the room, expecting to be defeated, PA Media is reporting.
Masses of press stood at the other end of the room awaiting the arrival of the Green Party candidate, Hannah Spencer, and Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin.
The result of the election is expected in the next 30 minutes.
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The byelection candidates have been arriving at the Manchester central convention complex and it’s been reported that they have been asked to meet with the returning officer in an announcement a short while ago, suggesting a result is near.
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Reform activists are “hearing Matt Goodwin has all but conceded defeat to the Greens”, the UK poll aggregator Britain Elects has posted on X.
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The Green party has predicted a “seismic moment” in UK politics, with a party source telling the Press Association:
Things are feeling positive. Not wanting to get ahead of ourselves, but everything that we thought that was going to be happening looks like it’s happening … Whatever happens, I think it’s fair to say that Greens are here to stay now as a progressive voice in British politics.
From day one of the byelection, we’ve said that Greens are the only party that could beat Reform. And I think tonight we’re seeing both of those things potentially coming true. I think it’s a seismic moment in British politics where Greens are showing that they’re a party that can protect the country from the threat of Reform, and that Labour’s not up to the job.”
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The Gorton and Denton byelection is the biggest electoral test yet for Keir Starmer before what are expected to be disastrous results for Labour in the May local elections.
The vote is particularly symbolic because of the threat Labour faces from Reform UK and the Green party in a once safe seat. There are big implications for Starmer’s premiership, whatever the result, but also for the wider political landscape.
Deputy political editor Jessica Elgot has this rundown on what a win could mean for each party.
1. Reform UK win
A win for Reform UK’s candidate, Matt Goodwin, would be the biggest sign yet that Nigel Farage’s poll lead represents real voter intentions rather than being merely a symbol of dissatisfaction with the government. Goodwin rarely talks about Reform’s politics or local issues and has repeatedly made the fight a referendum on Starmer’s leadership.
A victory would suggest the party is sustaining momentum. It would also put paid to the argument advanced by Labour strategists that progressives will unite to defeat Reform when they know how to vote tactically.
2. Greens win
A Green victory might be the most catastrophic result for Starmer’s leadership and would show the Greens are a serious progressive force, not a protest vote.
It would also show that Labour is not the automatic beneficiary of an anti-Reform alliance and would make MPs standing in urban seats fearful of the Green threat, which is likely to be compounded by local election results in London.A
A win would suggest Hannah Spencer’s enthusiastic campaign means they could capitalise on an increase in disillusioned progressive voters.
3. Labour win
Labour activists have been unusually confident about their prospects of holding the seat since the start of the campaign.
Labour has managed to energise its activist base, despite polling showing a broad dissatisfaction with the government. Starmer allies who want the prime minister to take a more aggressively progressive position have been happy with how Starmer has drawn dividing lines with Reform.
A senior Labour source said it was an “electoral training ground for a new approach of making values-led arguments for a diverse and tolerant society”.
Updated
While byelections tend to see lower turnouts than general elections, 47.62% voted on Thursday, only marginally less than the 47.8% who voted in 2024. The difference of just -0.2% makes it the closest byelection turnout to a general election turnout this century.
When Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell was elected to neighbouring Manchester Central in 2012, the turnout of 18.2% was the lowest since the second world war. But in Gorton and Denton the tightly fought race, and the presence of Reform, as well as strong on-the-ground operations from all three parties, saw this byelection buck the trend.
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Powell appears to concede Labour defeat
Labour’s deputy leader, Lucy Powell, appears to have conceded defeat at the count in Manchester Central convention complex.
She said: “What’s clear is that the Greens have turned out their vote higher than they might otherwise have expected to do.
There is a big majority in this constituency that hasn’t voted for Reform and on the day the Greens have managed to win that argument that they were the best placed to do that. I’m not sure whether that would totally translate to a general election – we will have to see.
People want to see the Labour party, the Labour government, shouting more loudly about our values, about our story ... and how we’re trying to change people’s lives for the better and they want to reject the policies of Reform, which they are going to resoundingly do in this byelection result this evening.
Asked about Keir Starmer’s future, Powell said: “Keir is resolute in his job as leader of the Labour party, as our prime minister and the task he has in hand. Keir has been dealing with some very big global headwinds in recent weeks and months ... and it’s a tough job being prime minister. I know that Keir is the right person for that job and he does that job really well.
This is about politics as well - we’ve got to get our politics clearer so people know that we are on their side, we are standing up for them.
She added:
There is no leadership contest. We have a leader in Keir Starmer. What Keir himself has been saying very, very clearly ... is that we do need to show our Labour values more strongly; we do need to unite that voter coalition once again to stand up for what I think this constituency will have shown, which is the vast majority of people in this country want to reject the politics of Reform, reject their division ... and we’ve got to be the leaders of that and we will be.
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Afzal Khan, the Labour MP for the neighbouring Rusholme constituency in Manchester, appeared confident as he arrived at the byelection count, according to the Press Association.
Khan said he was encouraged by the number of people he had seen going to the polls and his party’s “ground” operation to get out the vote.
He said:
People are coming out to vote. Despite the rain, fasting and everything. I think they’re coming out … Probably a record number. I’ve never seen so many in 25 years.
Earlier today, Labour said it had 1,000 activists out in the constituency.
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An election observer group has raised concerns over people appearing to collude on voting in the Gorton and Denton byelection.
Democracy Volunteers, an organisation founded by Dr John Ault, and supported by the Conservative peer and psephologist Prof Robert Haywood, deployed four accredited election observers across the constituency.
The team attended 22 of the 45 polling stations while polls were open, spending between 30 and 45 minutes in each, working in pairs.
The organisation said its volunteers were looking at people appearing to collude on votes in breach of secret ballot rules, which it called “family voting”, as well as the impact of the requirement for voters to show ID before they were issued with a ballot paper.
Manchester city council said its staff had been trained to look for evidence of voter interference and that no concerns had been reported or raised with them while polls were open.
Democracy Volunteers said that while the enactment of the Ballot Secrecy Act in 2023 made “family voting” more clearly a breach of the secret ballot, signage to discourage the practice was only seen in 45% of the polling stations observed.
The observing team said they saw family voting in 15 of the 22 polling stations observed, reporting 32 cases in total, nine cases in one polling station alone. They observed a sample of 545 voters casting their votes, of which they said 12% either directed or were affected by family voting.
A spokesperson for the acting returning officer said:
Polling station staff are trained to look out for any evidence of undue influence on voters. No such issues have been reported today.
If Democracy Volunteers were so concerned about alleged issues they could and should have raised them with us during polling hours so that immediate action could be taken.
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Labour sources have told the Press Association: “Early signs at the count indicate the Greens have been able to turn out support in a way they wouldn’t be able to replicate at a general election.”
Prof Will Jennings, of the University of Southampton, earlier said the contest was too close to call and that in Britain’s new fragmented politics “anything can happen”. He said a Labour defeat would be “terminal” for No 10’s strategy to try to appeal to right-leaning voters, which has alienated its core progressive supporters.
“It would be a symbol of the failure of that strategy and the end point for it,” Jennings said.
The worst-case scenario for Labour is coming third behind Reform and the Greens, not least because of the decision to stop Andy Burnham from standing.
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Labour is defending a 13,413-vote majority in Gorton and Denton, where nearly 80% of voters backed a party on the left at the 2024 election.
Angeliki Stogia, a councillor, was selected as the Labour candidate after Andy Burnham was prevented from standing.
The academic turned GB News presenter Matt Goodwin – who has faced criticism for his comments on women, Muslims and British citizenship – is standing for Reform UK.
Hannah Spencer, a Trafford councillor and plumber by trade, is the Green party candidate.
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Welcome
Welcome to our continuing coverage of the crucial Gorton and Denton byelection.
Counting is now under way in what is set to be a three-way contest for the seat in south-east Manchester after one of the most unpredictable byelections in years.
The Green party leader, Zack Polanski, said before voting that his party was “neck and neck” with Reform UK to overturn Labour’s 13,000-vote majority, and that Labour would need to “search their conscience” if Reform UK won.
Keir Starmer’s party had targeted left-leaning voters in the Greater Manchester seat with claims that only Labour can see off Nigel Farage’s Reform, saying that a vote for the Greens was “in effect, a vote for Reform”.
A Labour defeat in the party’s long-time stronghold would be a major blow to Keir Starmer’s leadership.
The byelection was triggered by the resignation of Andrew Gwynne on health grounds in January. The former MP was under investigation by parliament for offensive messages he sent in a WhatsApp group of local Labour figures.
Stay with us as we bring you the latest.
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