Green Party Wins Gorton And Denton By-Election, Pushing Keir Starmer’s Labour Into Third

Britain’s political landscape shifted in a Manchester suburb as the Green Party won a by-election in the Gorton and Denton constituency, pushing Keir Starmer’s Labour Party into third place behind Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

“The Green Party won a by-election in the United Kingdom, taking a Labour-held constituency from Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party, according to official results released early Friday”

AL24 News

The contest was triggered by the health-related resignation of the incumbent Labour MP, and the Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer—described as a 34-year-old local councillor—won with nearly 15,000 votes.

AL24 News

France 24 reported that Spencer’s victory came in a Labour “fief” where Starmer was “relégué à la troisième place,” while Le Monde and Ouest-France both framed the result as a defeat for Labour in a historically Labour-held seat.

AFP-linked reporting said Spencer became the fifth sitting MP in the British Parliament, which has 650 seats, for the Green Party.

The Greens’ vote share was put at about 41% in multiple accounts, with Labour credited at 25% and Reform UK at 29% in the same Gorton and Denton contest.

The Mirror and Le Monde both emphasized that Starmer personally got involved in the campaign, hammering a message of “unity” and attacking opponents as the vote approached.

In Levenshulme, Matt Alton, 31, told AFP he voted for the Greens, saying the party “apporte de l'espoir à l'ensemble de la société, aux personnes marginalisées et je pense que c'est le bon choix pour les travailleurs,” while Elaine Simpson, an AFP interviewee in Denton, said she voted Reform “à cause de l'immigration.”

The by-election was set against a backdrop of Labour’s declining support and internal pressure ahead of May local elections, with multiple outlets tying the Gorton and Denton result to the wider question of whether Starmer can hold power.

France 24 said Labour had lost “la moitié de leurs voix” in the constituency in two years since the last election, and it described the seat as long considered an “bastion imprenable” where defeat was now judged possible.

BBC

Le Monde and AL24 News both said the election was hastened by the health-related resignation of the outgoing Labour MP, pushing Labour, Reform UK, and the Greens into a contest with generally low turnout in by-elections.

The Independent and Guardian both framed the vote as a near-term test of Starmer’s position, with the Guardian describing “existential” fear among Labour MPs about the “crucial elections next week.”

In the Guardian’s account, Starmer tried to calm backbenchers as Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner were “buttering up Labour MPs in the Strangers’ Bar,” while Burnham was “800 miles away in Madrid” as his allies escalated a leadership push.

The Independent reported that Starmer’s position at the helm of the Labour Party was under scrutiny less than a week before May local elections, with the vote described as “judgement day” and leadership speculation centered on figures including Andy Burnham, Angela Rayner, and Wes Streeting.

Le Monde added that the Greens’ rise had been driven by Zack Polanski, who took leadership in September 2025, and it linked the campaign’s timing to the resignation of Andrew Gwynne as the outgoing MP.

The by-election result triggered sharply different reactions from Labour figures, Green leadership, and political analysts, with direct quotes appearing across outlets.

“Keir Starmer took the helm of the Labour Party in April 2020, promising a milder form of Corbynism, only to become the most right-wing Labour prime minister to date”

Contretemps

In her victory speech, Hannah Spencer told AFP: “Des milliers de personnes m'ont dit, sur le pas de leur porte et dans les urnes, qu'elles en avaient assez d'être déçues et méprisées,” and she added, “Nous avons battu les partis des donateurs milliardaires.”

France 24 also reported that Spencer received support from former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, while Le Monde said her left-leaning program and pro-Palestinian stance appealed in a constituency where more than a quarter of the population is Muslim.

Labour’s response was framed as disappointment and concern: Anna Turley, the Labour Party president, was quoted by France 24 calling the outcome “clairement décevant,” while the Mirror described Turley’s rally cry to colleagues and her insistence that Labour could still win the next general election.

The Mirror quoted Turley saying, “I 100% believe we can [win the next general election],” and it also included her call to focus on delivering “further and faster.”

Political scientist John Curtice, quoted by France 24 and Les Echos, said the result would “rendre la vie de Keir Starmer encore plus difficile,” and Les Echos reported Curtice saying the “Conservative-Labour duopoly” had “never seemed so weak.”

Meanwhile, the Guardian quoted a Burnham ally saying, “We could get a very good candidate over the line in Greater Manchester,” as Burnham’s supporters discussed a possible return to Parliament “within weeks.”

Different outlets framed the same by-election result in distinct ways, ranging from a story about Labour’s vulnerability to a story about the Greens’ rise and the Reform challenge.

France 24 emphasized the Greens’ breakthrough in a Labour stronghold and described the Greens as collecting about 41% of the vote “au détriment du Labour,” which it said fell to 25%, while Reform UK took 29%.

Daily Express

Le Monde similarly reported the Greens’ surge, but it tied the result to the Greens’ leadership under Zack Polanski and to the constituency’s Muslim population, saying the Greens’ program appealed “dans une circonscription où plus d'un quart de la population est musulmane.”

Les Echos framed the outcome as confirmation that Labour’s threat was not only on its right but also “on its left,” and it described Hannah Spencer as a 34-year-old local councillor and plumber who won 41% ahead of Reform’s 29% and Labour’s 25%.

The Independent and Guardian both shifted attention from the vote itself to what it means for Starmer’s leadership, with the Independent calling the upcoming May local elections “judgement day” and the Guardian describing Labour MPs’ “existential” fear and the Strangers’ Bar maneuvering.

The Guardian also reported that Burnham’s allies were ramping up a leadership campaign and said his return could happen “within weeks,” while Starmer’s team suggested any Westminster return would be “fiercely resisted.”

Even the Mirror, while supportive of Starmer, used the by-election context to argue for unity and resilience, quoting Anna Turley’s plea: “Let's be resilient. Let's pull together as a team.”

The sources connected the by-election outcome to immediate political consequences for Keir Starmer and to the timetable for May elections, with multiple accounts describing leadership speculation and electoral risk.

“Au Royaume-Uni, les Verts s'imposent dans un fief du Labour Manchester (Royaume-Uni) (AFP) – Le parti Vert s'est imposé jeudi dans un fief du Labour du Premier ministre Keir Starmer, relégué à la troisième place derrière le parti anti-immigration Reform UK de Nigel Farage”

France 24

France 24 said the result was “un nouveau coup de semonce pour le Labour” as local elections in May approach, described as crucial for maintaining Starmer at Downing Street, and it noted Labour had already lost a seat to Reform in a by-election in May 2025.

France 24

The Independent similarly described May local elections as “judgement day” with 5,000 council seats up for grabs, and it listed potential leadership contenders including Andy Burnham, Angela Rayner, and Wes Streeting.

The Guardian reported that projections from Robert Hayward, an elections expert, suggested Labour could lose more than 1,600 seats across England as well as bruising defeats in Wales and Scotland, and it described MPs expecting at least 100 MPs to endorse a statement after 8 May.

In the Guardian’s narrative, some MPs discussed the possibility of Burnham appointing Starmer as foreign secretary, while acknowledging it would be “highly unlikely,” and it quoted one supportive MP saying it would “allow him to build on his legacy on Iran, on Ukraine, Europe.”

The Mirror, by contrast, presented a more defensive posture from Labour’s chair Anna Turley, who urged MPs to stay calm and focus on delivering “further and faster,” while also warning against distraction.

Prospect Magazine broadened the stakes by describing the May elections as significant for Scotland, Wales, and England, and it stated that the elections on 7th May would “just determine Keir Starmer’s fate as prime minister.”