Disdain for Labour Unites Gorton and Denton Ahead of Crucial By-Election
The fate of Keir Starmer's premiership could be decided in Gorton and Denton on Thursday, where Labour faces a monumental struggle to cling on to a 13,000 majority. Despondent constituents are considering switching their allegiance to the Greens or Reform, revealing a deep-seated disillusionment with the current government.
Voters Express Frustration with Starmer's Leadership
Sheila Harrison, 69, a lifelong Labour voter from Denton, Greater Manchester, now declares she would pack Keir Starmer's suitcase for him. She tells The Independent that the beleaguered prime minister, currently fighting to save his premiership, doesn't understand the working class. For the first time in her life, she's voting against Labour in Thursday's crucial by-election.
Engulfed in crisis, Starmer survived his toughest day as prime minister earlier this month when ministers rallied around him after he faced calls to quit from his own party amid the fallout from the Peter Mandelson scandal. His handling of the saga has further threatened the future of a prime minister whose popularity is at a premium just 19 months after coming to power.
Perfect Storm for Labour in Key Constituency
In Gorton and Denton, where the by-election could deliver the final blow to Starmer's time in Downing Street, disdain is palpable. The seat was vacated by former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne, who retired on health grounds a year after the Trigger Me Timbers WhatsApp scandal cost him the party whip.
Labour now faces a perfect storm – a fight on both sides of the constituency. That fight is expected to be against the Green Party in Gorton, made up of diverse southeastern suburbs of Manchester, and against Reform in the post-industrial town of Denton, situated in the Greater Manchester borough of Tameside.
Former Labour Supporters Consider Alternatives
Both the Greens and Reform are appealing to disheartened former Labour voters like Sheila and her husband John Harrison. Retired pipe fitter John, 71, describes Britain as broken, viewing immigration, kids with nothing to do, lack of tidiness, and lack of respect for police as the biggest issues in Denton.
Contemplating voting for Reform, John feels let down by the government, accusing them of not delivering what was promised in their manifesto. One change could win him back to the party however: I would have voted for Andy Burnham, he says. John sees Burnham as having more personality and being more able to connect with northern voters – he believes the Greater Manchester mayor is on his side in a way that Starmer, who he describes as aloof, is not.
Local Preference for Andy Burnham Emerges
Sheila agrees – she too would have voted for the Merseyside-born Burnham. He's a local, he's a local man, whether he was from Liverpool, Manchester, whatever, she says. He stands for working-class people.
Burnham, who has been mayor since 2017, could have been on the ballot, but his application was blocked by Labour's National Executive Committee amid fears he could challenge Starmer for leadership. This may be a move that costs the party this crucial seat.
Green Party Gains Ground in Gorton
Retired midwife Andrea Anwyl, 77, is another lifelong Labour supporter disillusioned with the government. She may now vote Green but says she definitely would have voted for Burnham if he were the Labour candidate. I don't like Starmer. I don't like what he's done, she tells The Independent, standing in the largely empty Denton Civic Square.
On the aptly named Greening Road in Levenshulme, on the Gorton side of the constituency, Green Party signs stand in several front gardens of its terraced houses. Shops along Mount Road, where the Greens have based their campaign office, display posters in support in their windows.
Diverse Voices Express Political Alienation
Outside one of these shops, taxi driver Muhammed Basharat, 61, from Levenshulme, tells The Independent that the Greens' vision is excellent. Education policy, foreign policy, home policy, all their policies are brilliant, he says. Like those contemplating a vote for Reform, he too used to support Labour but says they disappointed us very much, citing tax rises and cuts to welfare.
Similarly, care worker Jawad Hassan, 24, believes a vote for Green is in the best interests of working people and the way to keep Reform away from power. He is not impressed by Labour's offering. I don't think they work any more for the working class, he says. As for Reform, he says whatever they're doing is not good for a society where different ethnicities live together.
Undecided Voters Reflect Broader Discontent
At Manchester Gorton Market, mobile hairdresser Caterina Pandolfo, 65, remains undecided. Typically a Labour voter, she is put off by the prime minister and cannot forgive the treatment of Greater Manchester's mayor. The way he treated Andy Burnham was disgusting, she says. I don't think he's doing very well at all, Keir Starmer, sadly. He could have done so much.
At the moment, none of the parties appeals to Caterina, who says she feels alienated from the political class. You know, hang on a minute, we're just normal everyday working guys, she says. This is Gorton, for God's sake. We're not flipping multimillionaires, are we?
Traditional Labour Supporters Question Party Direction
Self-described union man Ian Cooney shares that feeling of detachment. The 55-year-old electrical engineer from Gorton didn't vote at the last general election, saying he did not trust any party to improve the area's fortunes. Gorton was fine years ago. I've lived here all my life. But we're to a point now where it seems to be a dumping ground, he says.
Ian is leaning towards voting for Reform, believing that Labour no longer represents him. My dad was a union guy, I'm a union man. I was brought up that way with Labour, but now their priorities are totally different from your working-class man, he explains.
Labour's Defense of the Seat
Labour is defending a 13,000 majority in the country's 15th most deprived constituency. The party says only its candidate, city councillor Angeliki Stogia, can beat Reform, represented by GB News presenter and former academic Matt Goodwin.
Stogia tells The Independent that it will take time for the government to deliver change, but agreed with Starmer's verdict that it must go faster and we need to go deeper. About her election chances, she absolutely believes Labour can beat Reform. We're fighting every door. We've got policies. We're listening to residents on the ground and what they want, and what they want is real action. They don't want shouting from the sidelines.
The Green Party and its nominee, councillor and plumber Hannah Spencer, would not agree that only Labour can beat Reform. As Thursday's vote approaches, the discontent among traditional Labour voters suggests this by-election could signal a significant political realignment in this crucial northern constituency.
