Greens win Gorton and Denton by-election in blow to Starmer

Green Party leader Zack Polanski with Gorton and Denton by-election candidate Hannah Spencer (Danny Lawson/PA)

The Green Party has won its first ever UK parliamentary by-election in Gorton and Denton, dealing a bitter blow to Keir Starmer.

Labour’s defeat, trailing in third behind Zack Polanski’s Greens and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the previously rock-solid Greater Manchester constituency, will pile pressure on the prime minister.

Hannah Spencer, a councillor and plumber, emerged victorious for the Greens, with 14,980 votes and a majority of 4,402 votes.

Labour candidate Angeliki Stogia during on polling day in Gorton (Peter Byrne/PA)

Reform UK’s candidate Matt Goodwin got 10,578 votes, with Labour’s Angeliki Stogia trailing on 9,364, down from 18,555 in the 2024 general election, when the turnout was similarly high.

Conservative candidate Charlotte Cadden received just 706 votes, with the Liberal Democrats getting 653.

The Greens’ victory will undermine Labour’s claim to be the only option for anti-Reform voters in the May local elections, deepening the electoral challenge for the governing party.

Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell earlier admitted that the Greens had won the “argument that they were best placed” to keep Reform out of Gorton and Denton.

Mr Starmer's decision to block potential leadership rival Andy Burnham from running will also likely face renewed scrutiny.

The contest was triggered by former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne standing down for health reasons.