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The Green Party has rocked British politics with a seismic victory in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
It was a devastating blow for Sir Keir Starmer as Labour were pushed into a humiliating third place in what used to be one of the party’s safest parliamentary seats.
Here are five takeaways from the shock result:
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Labour under pressure left and right
Labour had attempted to spin the Manchester by-election as a direct fight between Labour and Reform UK, promoting a vote for the Green Party as a sure-fire way to see the right win.
Thousands of activists, and a significant amount of party cash, was thrown into Labour’s campaign to hold the seat.
But the final result challenges the narrative that Sir Keir’s party is the only viable left-wing option for voters.
It allows the Green Party to position itself not just as a fringe alternative, but as a mainstream left choice for progressive voters disillusioned with Labour’s direction under the Prime Minister.
Labour has traditionally had a strong base among working class British voters. While that has been diminishing since the 2019 general election, it is more clear than ever that the party is losing lower earning left wing voters to the Greens and those on the right to Reform UK.
Green Party’s Hannah Spencer celebrates her win with leader Zack Polanski (Peter Byrne/PA)
PA Wire
The Green Party has seen a surge in support since Zack Polanski became leader.
Since he was elected in September, the party has risen by an average of four points in national opinion polls.
Membership has skyrocketed under the self described “eco-populist”, from about 70,000 people to more than 180,000 today.
Mr Polanski also appears to have boosted his party among young voters, with 18- to 24-year-olds the most likely to say they will vote Green.
The age group are also the voters who have swung the most to the Greens in the last couple of months.
Gorton and Denton was a landmark victory. Not only was it a very convincing, with Ms Spencer taking 40% of the vote, it marked the Green’s first ever by-election win.
Previously the party had never won more than 10% of the vote in a parliamentary by-election.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer met local party members in London on Friday morning
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Starmer’s leadership under threat
A number of scandals, including Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador, had left many Labour MPs questioning the Prime Minister’s leadership. The by-election result piles further pressure on Sir Keir.
Labour MPs were already circling on Friday morning.
Former Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner said the result should be a “wake-up call” for the party, calling for her colleagues to “be braver” and “rededicate” themselves to “a Labour agenda that puts people first”.
Others directly criticised the party’s direction under Sir Keir.
Veteran Labour MP John Trickett called for the PM to quit, writing on X: “Voters in Gorton & Denton have delivered a verdict that cannot be ignored.
“Labour lost votes in every direction and the same problem is replicated across the country. The result of bad political choices made by the PM. Labour needs new leadership.”
Clapham and Brixton Hill MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy said: “Being pushed to third in Gorton and Denton, one of our safest seats, is an indictment of the government’s current approach. Unless we get back to core Labour values, we are heading for disaster.”
Sir Keir admitted the loss of the seat was “disappointing” but rejected calls for him to resign.
“I came into politics late in life to fight for change for those people who need it,” he said.
“I will keep on fighting for those people for as long as I’ve got breath in my body.”
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch
PA Wire
The Manchester by-election was also bad news for the Conservatives.
While the Tories did not put a huge amount of effort into winning Gorton and Denton, candidate Charlotte Cadden received just 706 votes.
Taking just 1.9% of the vote meant the Conservatives lost their deposit and recorded their worst ever by-election result.
It cemented the fact that Kemi Badenoch’s party is significantly struggling to fend off the challenge from Reform UK.
What is family voting, and is it a problem?
The Reform UK leader said claims people forced family members to vote in a certain way during the contest had been reported to the Electoral Commission and police.
Election observer group Democracy Volunteers warned it had witnessed “concerningly high levels” of family voting – an illegal practice where two voters use one polling booth and potentially direct each other on voting.
Nigel Farage
PA Wire
The organisation said its members saw 32 cases of apparent collusion at polling stations – the highest levels in its 10-year history.
In a statement, Mr Farage said: “Reform has today reported 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.”
The Green Party accused Mr Farage of making an attempt to undermine a democratic result in the by-election.
A Greens spokesperson said: “This is an attempt to undermine the democratic result and is straight out of the Trump playbook.
“We’ve just won a historic by-election by a comfortable margin.
“We’ve shown the country that Greens can beat Reform, despite their big business donations.”
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