Labour place third in Gorton and Denton by-election as Greens gain seat

Labour have been defeated in the Gorton and Denton by-election, losing to the Green Party who won with a majority of over 4,000 votes, after battling out in what polls had suggested was a knife edge fight across the campaign period.

The by-election was triggered by the resignation of the former suspended Labour MP Andrew Gwynne on health grounds, leaving the seat vacant less than two years after the constituency was first contested at the 2024 general election.

Green candidate Hannah Spencer won the by election with 14,908 votes, beating Labour candidate Angeliki Stogia who placed third with 9,364 votes. Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin secured 10,578 votes.

The loss brings Labour a heavy blow, losing a historic constituency, which in the previous 2024 election they had won with a majority of over 13,000 – and marking the first time the party has come third in a by-election it was defending since Mitcham and Morden in 1982.

Chair of the Labour Party Anna Turley said the result was “clearly disappointing” and said: “By-elections are normally difficult for the party of government, and this election was no different.

“We have had thousands of conversations over the last few weeks and we know the majority of voters here did not want the poisonous politics of Nigel Farage and Reform.

“We will continue to deliver a programme for government that tackles the cost of living crisis families are facing, creates opportunities for young people and invests in our public services.

“The politics of anger and easy answers offered by the Greens and Reform won’t deliver this.

“We will move forwards with a relentless focus on delivering the renewal communities across Britain want to see.”

READ MORE: ‘Someone to bring them together’: The Gorton and Denton by-election campaign from the ground…

The by-election came after several tough weeks for the Labour Party, with the resignation of the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney mid-campaign over advising the decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as US ambassador despite known links to disgraced pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, alongside Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s call for the Prime Minister to stand down over the Mandelson saga.

Many commentators had said that popularity for Labour would take too much of a hit to see off competitors in Gorton and Denton in the wake of the scandal, although activists said the issue had rarely been brought up on the doorstep.

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Labour put up a strong fight on the campaign trail, reaching over 10,000 contacts with heights of 1000 activists out on the doorstep on polling day.

However, Labour was met with significant Green support across the constituency, entering the count knowing this by-election was going to be very difficult to call.

‘Labour leadership turned back on progressive majority’

Director of campaign group Compass Neil Lawson said the result proved there is “appetite in Britain for a bold progressive agenda for big change”.

He said: “Labour’s leadership has turned its back on the nation’s progressive majority and blocked the only candidate – in Andy Burnham – who could have spoken for this hopeful future.

“The two party stranglehold on the UK’s politics looks broken. Only a progressive alliance can defeat Reform and the causes of Reform.”

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