Greens seismic win in Gorton and Denton by-election is victory for cheating, claims Nigel Farage: Live updates and reaction
The Greens are today celebrating their first ever victory in a UK by-election as the party stunned Labour and Reform to take the Gorton and Denton seat in Greater Manchester.
The Greens are today celebrating their first ever victory in a UK by-election as the party stunned Labour and Reform to take the Gorton and Denton seat in Greater Manchester.
Hannah Spencer won the vote after securing 14,980 ballots, more than 4,000 ahead of her nearest challenger Reforms Matt Goodwin.
Ms Spencers victory piles fresh misery onto Keir Starmer who insisted only Labour could defeat Nigel Farages Reform in the run-up to yesterdays by-election.
The Greens’ victory at Gorton and Denton represents the sixth largest Labour majority to be overturned at a by-election since the Second World War.
Reacting to his partys defeat, Nigel Farage claimed there had been cheating after official observers raised the alarm about family voting - a major breach of electoral law.
Family voting is where a voter is accompanied by another person into or near polling booths with the intention of influencing their vote.
The Reform UK leader posted on X: This election was a victory for sectarian voting and cheating. Matt Goodwin was a great candidate for us. Roll on the elections on May 7th. It will be goodbye Starmer and goodbye to the Tory party.
Follow all the latest political reaction from the Gordon and Denton by-election
Zack Polanski: Greens can win more than 100 seats at next election
If we see a swing like this at the next general election, there will be a tidal wave of new Green MPs.
This used to be one of Labour’s safest seats. In this by-election almost half of their 2024 voters abandoned them and many switched to voting Green, meaning they finished third.
People everywhere will now know that voting Green is the way to defeat Reform. Many ex-Labour voters told our canvassers that they will never go back to a party that supports genocide, fuels racism, and has failed to deliver on its promise to improve life for people across the country.
Hannah Spencer admits she will have to cancel plumbing jobs in victory speech
Now to my customers, I’m sorry, but I think I might have to cancel the work that you had booked in, because I’m heading to Parliament. And when I get there, I will make space for everyone doing jobs like mine. We will finally get a seat at the table.
We have shown that we don’t have to accept being turned against each other. We can demand better without hating each other. We can do that together.
We ran a hopeful campaign, backed by thousands of volunteers and activists. We defeated the parties of billionaire donors. We have shown that we don’t have to accept being turned against each other at all.
