Gorton and Denton by-election is taking place on February 26

15:26, 23 Feb 2026Updated 15:27, 23 Feb 2026

The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at Rushford Park in Longsight to support Labour candidate Angeliki Stogia in the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election . 23 February 2026

Sir Keir Starmer has described the Gorton and Denton by-election as a ‘straight fight between Labour and Reform’ in a surprise visit to the constituency this afternoon (February 23).

The Prime Minister paid a short visit to Rushford Park football club in Longsight, accompanied by the party’s candidate, Angeliki Stogia, and deputy leader and Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell. And the Manchester Evening News was there to question him on Labour’s chances on the crunch poll and his decision to block Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham from standing.

Addressing an audience of party faithful in the club’s function room, he said the by-election came down to a ‘choice between unity and division, between hope and hostility’.

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The Labour Party leader described the vote as a “battle of values” in Greater Manchester. He said: “The values of the Labour Party, which wants to bring communities together in unity and hope, or the toxic division of Reform that wants to tear our communities apart, that wants to break apart everything that we’ve stood for, for years and years in this country.”

Labour faces a challenge from both Reform and the Green Party to hold onto the Greater Manchester seat.

Keir Starmer and Labour candidate Angeliki Stogia

Asked by the M.E.N. whether the decision to block Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham from running for MP could end up costing his party the seat, Starmer avoided the question – instead focusing on the qualities of chosen candidate Angeliki Stogia.

He said: “This is a straight fight between Labour and Reform. Only Labour can beat Reform in this constituency and that’s because we care about bringing communities together.

“Because we have a candidate that’s rooted in public service, who wants to make sure every single person has a voice, up against the politics of division, which is which is not the politics of Manchester. And frankly we saw here in Manchester on Saturday with the [Britain First] march exactly where that kind of divisive politics takes you.

Starmer described the vote as a straight fight between Labour and Reform

“This is a battle between Labour and Reform and it is a really important battle in terms of unity over division. And it’s very important we make sure that Labour values, bringing people together, giving people what they want, not just what they’re entitled to.”

According to some polls, the Labour Party is currently trailing third behind Reform UK and the Green Party. It has led to concerns that the party is losing its footing in what was previously considered a safe seat.

Asked how his party ended up in this position and whether he would take responsibility shout the worst happen, Sir Keir said in more than a decade in power, the Conservatives did ‘absolutely nothing’ for the constituency.

Starmer and Lucy Powell arrive at Rushford Park

He added: “They inflicted austerity on this constituency, they brought in a bad Brexit deal, and it was a battle against a government that didn’t care. Now we have a Labour government that absolutely cares and wants to work alongside our mayors and our candidates to make a difference.

“And already we have. The NHS is turning round. Already we’re showing the economy is coming back under control with inflation going down, interest rates going down. In this constituency we’re going to lift 6,000 children out of poverty by getting rid of the two child benefit cap, which Reform would reverse, plunging those same children back into poverty. It’s really important that we fight for what we care about and the people we care about.”

Starmer also hit out at the Greens’ “disgusting” drug legalisation policy and warned would-be voters for Zack Polanski’s party they risked letting Reform UK claim a victory.

Labour candidate Angeliki Stogia

The Prime Minister said: “In this by-election a vote for the Green Party is, in effect, a vote for Reform. And we saw in the by-election in Runcorn last year, where Labour lost by just a handful of votes, we got a Reform Member of Parliament. We mustn’t let that happen again.

“When it comes to the Green Party, look at their drugs policy: they say we should legalise heroin and crack cocaine. Imagine what would happen in every park and every playground in this constituency if that happened.

“I have to say, as a father of a boy who’s 17-and-a-half, the idea that the Green Party would make the argument that just, in a few months time, it should be perfectly lawful to sell him heroin and crack cocaine. I find that disgusting.”