The Green Party marked a historic victory last night after Hannah Spencer won the Labour seat of Gorton and Denton, delivering a further blow to Sir Keir Starmer.
Ms Spencer won with 14,980 votes (41% of those cast), beating Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin who received 10,578 and Labour’s Angeliki Stogia with 9,364.
The result makes Ms Spencer the first Green Party candidate to win a Westminster by-election, as well as becoming the party’s first MP in northern England.
It is also a setback for Scottish Labour which holds its spring conference in Paisley today and faces the prospect of a similar rejection by an electorate in the Scottish elections in May.
The constituency in Greater Manchester had long been considered a safe Labour seat, with the vote triggered by the resignation of former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne in January due to ill health.
He was elected as a Labour MP in 2005 in the previous Denton and Reddish constituency with a 13,000 majority, but was suspended from the party last year after sending offensive WhatsApp messages.
Election expert Sir John Curtice said the result was going to make life for Keir Starmer “even worse”. The Labour leader will now face further criticism over his decision to block popular Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham from standing.
Ms Spencer said: “I didn’t grow up wanting to be a politician. I am a plumber,” she said during her victory speech. “I am no different to every single person here in this constituency. I work hard. That is what we do.”
Reform’s Matt Goodwin said his party had “embarrassed Labour” in is sixth safest seat. “If we can do this here, we can do this pretty much anywhere,” he said.
Labour candidate Angeliki Stogia declined to speak to the media as she left the count. Party chair Anna Turley called the result “clearly disappointing”.
Green leader Zack Polanski said “almost half” of Labour’s 2024 general election voters “abandoned them”, as “many switched to voting Green”.
“The Green Party saw a record-breaking swing in our direction and more than tripled our vote,” he said.
“If we see a swing like this at the next general election, there will be a tidal wave of new Green MPs.”
Scottish Greens Co-leader Gillian Mackay said: “This is a historic result that shows people are ready for something different from the politics they have had to endure for decades.
“Hannah has just shown Scotland that the best way to keep Reform out is by voting Green.
“As we approach the Holyrood election in May, people across Scotland will be looking for representatives who will stand up for fairness, tackle inequality and deliver the climate action that our communities deserve.”
A spokesperson for the Conservative party, which trailed in fourth with 706 votes, said Sir Keir Starmer has “killed the Labour Party”, adding: “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.”
Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin, who came second behind the Greens, says Reform UK has “embarrassed Labour in one of their strongest seats.”
“Sixth safest Labour seat. And I think if we can do this here, we can do this pretty much anywhere,” he says after the party knocked Labour into third place.
Result:
- Green Party – 14,980
- Reform UK – 10,578
- Labour Party – 9,364
- Conservative Party – 706
- Liberal Democrats – 653
- Monster Raving Loony Party – 159
- Advance UK – 154
- Rejoin EU Party – 98
- Libertarian Party – 47
- Social Democratic Party – 46
- Communist League – 29
The total number of votes cast was 36,814, with a voter turnout of over 47%.
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