It was a night dominated by claims of illegal 'family voting', but in the end the result was not even close. The Green Party overturned a 13,413 Labour majority in Gorton and Denton, leading second placed Reform by 4,402 votes. It was the first ever Green victory in a Westminster by-election and followed months of media hype about a 'Green surge'. Labour trailed in third, a disastrous turnaround which will heap more pressure on the embattled Keir Starmer.
The sectarian tactics deployed by the Green Party is set to dominate the conversation, with more evidence on public display on polling day itself. Hannah Spencer was filmed dancing in the street to south Asian music in the morning, while later in the day Green activists were filmed flying the flags of Pakistan and Palestine on a major traffic junction.
The result may be grim for Labour, but it's far worse for Britain.
Gorton and Denton Parliamentary By-Election Result
Hannah Spencer (Grn) 14,980 (40.6%) +27.4%
Matt Goodwin (Ref) 10,578 (28.7%) +14.6%
Angeliki Stogia (Lab) 9,364 (25.4%) -25.4%
Charlotte Cadden (Con) 706 (1.9%) -6.0%
Jackie Pearcey (LDm) 653 (1.8%) -2.0%
Sir Oink A-Lot (Loon) 159 (0.4%) New
Nick Buckley (Adv) 154 (0.4%) New
Joseph O'Meachair (REU) 98 (0.3%) New
Dan Clarke (Lbt) 47 (0.1%) New
Sebastian Moore (SDP) 46 (0.1%) New
Hugo Wils (CmL) 29 (0.1%) New
Grn GAIN from Lab
Updates
04:31
The Green Party has won the Gorton and Denton by-election.
04:28
A result is now imminent.
04:19
Green candidate Hannah Spencer has finally arrived at the count, accompanied by party leader Zack Polanski. His presence indicates a Green victory.
03:54
Reform candidate Matt Goodwin has arrived, but without Nigel Farage. This strongly suggests a Green victory.
03:47
Counting is complete.
03:45
A result appears to be close, but there is no sign of either candidate for Reform or the Greens yet.
03:42
Labour candidate Angeliki Stogia enters the count with Lucy Powell and they are met by complete silence from their activists.
03:38
Labour's Lucy Powell appears to be conceding again: "I wanted Angeliki Stogia to be my colleague in Parliament. But I think what is really clear is that there is a big majority in this constituency that hasn’t voted for Reform. And on the day the Greens have managed to win that argument that they were best placed to do that."
03:15
An unnamed Labour MP has sent the BBC's Chris Mason the following text message: "Everyone knew the only chance to beat both the Greens and Reform was Andy Burnham. Keir clearly thought he would look tough blocking him but with the disastrous few weeks and terrible policy across a number of areas we've managed to isolate not only our base but the broad coalition we rely on to win elections. Keir needs to own this. He's out of chances. You can't claim to be the party of unity when you’re adopting the divisive policies of Reform. Vote Labour to stop Reform rings hollow when you’re mimicking them."
02:55
Labour's deputy leader says: "It is clear that the Green Party have turned out their vote more tonight than we have". Lucy Powell's statement is the strongest hint yet that Labour have conceded defeat to the Greens.
02:53
A Green source tells the BBC: "We are very confident of a win."
02:14
Sky News reports that an unnamed Labour MP has attacked the decision to block Andy Burnham from standing. The MP reportedly said: "Keir has got away, for too long, with saying he hadn’t been involved when decisions taken have gone wrong. This time he, Keir, must own this catastrophe."
02:11
All future updates will relate to Gorton and Denton only.
02:08
As we predicted, the Lib Dems have held the council by-election in Southampton, albeit narrowly over Labour.
01:59
A Green source quoted by the BBC, also suggests Labour will finish third in Gorton and Denton.
01:46
A Reform source quoted by the BBC, suggests that Labour will finish third in Gorton and Denton.
01:38
36,903 votes were cast, which is a few hundred more than the 36,560 that turned out in Gorton and Denton for the 2024 general election. Voter turnout was almost identical. In 2024 it was 47.8 per cent, compared to 47.6 in this by-election. This is an impressive turnout for a by-election.
01:09
Labour sources have told the Press Association: "Early signs at the count indicate the Greens have been able to turn out support in a way they wouldn't be able to replicate at a general election".
00:53
The returning officer has addressed the count and says that a result is not expected until after 04:00, but with the potential for recounts it could be much later.
00:32
Reform's Nadhim Zarhawi has told Sky News that he does not expect his current party to win. He said industrial levels of voter fraud and sectarian politics meant that either the Greens or Labour would triumph.
00:21
A result is reportedly expected some time between 03:00 and 04:00, but if the result is particularly tight there could be recounts.
00:03
Manchester City Council has hit back at claims of 'family voting' in polling stations, saying that no such issues have been reported: "It is extremely disappointing that Democracy Volunteers have waited until after polls have closed to make such claims."
23:45
Labour sources have told the Press Association that over a thousand party activists descended on the constituency today and 'spoke to more voters that we have done in any previous by-election polling day'. They added that they expect the result to be 'very close'.
23:26
Reform's David Bull tells BBC Newsnight that Labour would have successfully held Gorton and Denton with Andy Burnham as their candidate.
23:18
More on that report from the Democracy Volunteers from Times political editor Steven Swinford: "Family voting is an illegal practice where two voters use one polling booth at the same time. It can involve husbands instructing their wives how to vote."
23:06
Newspaper columnist Dan Hodges has spent the day in Gorton and Denton. He says that both Reform and Labour think the Greens will win. Reform sources think they will come second, while Labour believe they will be second.
22:25
It's being reported that activists from the NGO Democracy Volunteers have observed 32 instances of illegal 'family voting' in 15 polling stations in Gorton and Denton today.
22:01
The polls have now closed in tonight's two by-elections - the Westminster by-election in Gorton and Denton and the council by-election in Shirley, Southampton.
Council by-elections
One council by-election also took place on Thursday, down on the south coast. Shirley is the birthplace of Rishi Sunak, but there was to be no Tory surprises here. As we predicted, the seat was held by the Lib Dems, but only by a margin of 21 votes. Labour finished a surprisingly strong second, including an ultra rare increase in vote share.
Shirley, Southampton City Council
LDm: 975 (27.3%) -11.9%
Lab: 954 (26.7%) +2.7%
Ref: 681 (19.0%) New
Grn: 539 (15.1%) +7.5%
Con: 288 (8.1%) -16.1%
Ind: 122 (3.4%) -0.3%
TUS: 16 (0.4%) -0.9%
LDm HOLD
tighter than a knats chuff.
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