The Green Party has secured a historic victory in the Gorton and Denton by-election, overturning a Labour majority of over 13,000 votes. Hannah Spencer, a local plumber and Green councillor, becomes the party's first MP in northern England after winning 14,980 votes, with Labour's candidate Angeliki Stogia trailing in third place on 9,364 votes. Reform UK finished second with 10,578 votes, while both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats lost their deposits.
The result marks a 25.4 percentage point drop in Labour's share of the vote compared with the 2024 general election. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the outcome as "very disappointing" but ruled out resignation, stating: "I will keep on fighting for those people for as long as I've got breath in my body." The defeat has intensified concerns among Labour MPs about the party losing left-wing voters to the Greens as it tries to counter the rise of Reform UK.
Speaking after her victory, Spencer said people were being "bled dry" by the cost of living and criticised politicians who "constantly scapegoat and blame our communities for all the problems in society." The by-election was triggered by the resignation of former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne over offensive WhatsApp messages. Turnout stood at 47.6%, slightly lower than in 2024.
The Greens' campaign benefited from local anger over Labour's stance on Gaza, an issue that also mobilised Muslim voters. Reform UK candidate Matt Goodwin, a former academic now with GB News, blamed his loss on "a coalition of Islamists and woke progressives," but polling showed the Greens as the main alternative to Labour. The result is Labour's worst in the seat in nearly a century.
