UK Labour Loses Greater Manchester Seat Held For a Century as Greens Stun Starmer in By-Election

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party suffered a major setback on Friday as the Green Party’s Hannah Spencer won the parliamentary seat of Gorton and Denton in Greater Manchester, a constituency Labour had held for nearly a century. The result marks a historic first for the Green Party, which had never previously won a one-off parliamentary election in the north of England.

Spencer secured 40.7% of the vote, while Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Reform UK came second with 28.7%, and Labour trailed in third place with 25.4%. The seat fell vacant after a resignation due to health reasons, and the election was seen as a key test of Starmer’s leadership amid mounting political pressure. Labour chair Anna Turley called the outcome “clearly disappointing".

Starmer had personally intervened in the contest, blocking popular Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham from standing and visiting the constituency to bolster Labour’s chances. The loss comes after a series of controversies, including criticism over Starmer’s appointment of veteran Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, linked to the late Jeffrey Epstein.

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Labour had won just over half the vote in Gorton and Denton in the 2024 general election. However, factors such as Starmer’s declining popularity, slow economic growth, and recent policy reversals contributed to the party’s poor performance. The Green Party’s victory increases its representation in the House of Commons to five seats out of 650.

While Starmer is unlikely to face immediate challenges to his position, Labour insiders warn that poor results in upcoming local and regional elections, including those in Wales and Scotland, could intensify calls for his resignation after the May polls.

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