Progressive Greens win closely watched election in one-time Labour stronghold, while right-wing Reform comes second.<\/p>\n
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A candidate for the United Kingdom\u2019s left-wing Green Party has comfortably won a closely-watched election for a vacant parliamentary seat, delivering an embarrassing defeat for Prime Minister Keir Starmer\u2019s Labour Party in one of its former strongholds.<\/p>\n
Results announced Friday showed the Greens\u2019 Hannah Spencer, a 34-year-old councillor and plumber, had won 40.7 percent of the vote in the by-election in Gorton and Denton<\/a>, a constituency in Greater Manchester that has been considered a secure Labour seat for almost a century.<\/p>\n In an outcome that analysts said pointed to the fracturing of the UK\u2019s traditional two-party politics, the hard-right candidate for the populist, anti-immigration Reform finished in second place.<\/p>\n Labour, which had won more than half the vote in Gorton and Denton at the last general election in 2024, finished a bruising third.<\/p>\n The Green Party has positioned itself as an alternative to Labour, arguing that the governing party has moved away from some of the values it once championed.<\/p>\n The Greens, and their party leader Zack Polanski, have been vocal in their condemnation of Israel\u2019s genocidal war on Gaza<\/a> and their support for Palestinians. Many Labour voters have been infuriated by the government\u2019s ongoing diplomatic support for Israel through the carnage it has wrought in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n Political scientist John Curtice called the result a \u201cseismic moment\u201d that signalled that the \u201cfuture of British politics looks more uncertain than at any stage\u201d since the end of World War II, the Reuters news agency reported.<\/p>\n The result was \u201cclearly disappointing\u201d, said Labour Party chair Anna Turley.<\/p>\n In her victory speech, Spencer said she felt compelled to call out \u201cpoliticians and divisive figures who constantly scapegoat and blame our communities for all the problems in society\u201d.<\/p>\n Starmer\u2019s woes continue<\/p>\n The loss of what had been considered a safe seat, in the country\u2019s biggest electoral test \u2060in nearly a year, adds to the mounting pressure on the embattled Starmer.<\/p>\n The British leader has faced calls for his resignation amid Labour\u2019s nose-diving popularity and ongoing turmoil, including the arrest of Peter Mandelson<\/a>, who Starmer had appointed ambassador to the US last year, following revelations surrounding his links<\/a> to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>.<\/p>\n Starmer had personally invested political capital in the outcome by blocking Andy Burnham, the popular Manchester mayor who is widely touted as a potential challenger for the Labour leadership, from standing in the race, and by visiting the constituency before the vote.<\/p>\n Duopoly challenged<\/p>\n Spencer\u2019s victory \u2013 the Greens\u2019 first win in a by-election \u2013 gives the party its fifth seat in parliament, while the top-polling Reform, which is widely viewed as posing the biggest challenge to the government at the ballot box, has eight.<\/p>\n Both parties, along with the centrist Liberal Democrats, are polling in double digits, presenting a threat to the traditional Labour-Conservative duopoly in British politics.<\/p>\n Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-immigration Reform, claimed on X, without evidence, that the Greens\u2019 win was \u201ca victory for sectarian voting and cheating\u201d, and welcomed forthcoming local elections in May.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be goodbye Starmer and goodbye to the Tory party,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A Greens spokesperson dismissed Farage\u2019s comments as \u201can attempt to undermine the democratic result\u201d that was \u201cstraight out of the Trump playbook\u201d.<\/p>\n The contest was triggered after former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne stood down for health reasons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Progressive Greens win closely watched election in one-time Labour stronghold, while right-wing Reform comes second. 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