The party won the crucial by-election after a tense three-way battle for the seat
The party won the crucial by-election after a tense three-way battle for the seat
04:35, 27 Feb 2026Updated 04:37, 27 Feb 2026
The Green party has won the Gorton and Denton by-election after a tense three-way battle to take the seat.
Voters went to the polls in the crucial by-election on Thursday, February 26 with the result coming out in the early hours on Friday. In the lead up to the results, politicians and experts said the outcome was ‘too close to call’.
The vote was triggered by the long coming resignation of former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne on health grounds, following a reported fall from grace. The vote has been seen as a major test of Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership.
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Eleven candidates stood in the highly anticipated by-election, with polling stations opening up at 7am and shutting at 10pm. The turnout in the Gorton and Denton by-election has been announced as 47.62%, with 36,903 verified votes cast. In the general election in 2024 the turnout was 47.8%.
Labour’s Angeliki Stogia ran with Reform’s Matt Goodwin, who has been backed by the far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson, and they were up against the Greens candidate Hannah Spencer.
Ms Spencer won with a majority, with 14,980 votes. Matt Goodwin’s Reform came in second place, with 10,578 votes. Labour’s Angeliki Stogia came in third, with 9,364 votes.
Ahead of the result a Green Party source told the Press Association: “Things are feeling positive. Not wanting to get ahead of ourselves, but everything that we thought that was going to be happening looks like it’s happening. Whatever happens, I think it’s fair to say that Greens are here to stay now as a progressive voice in British politics.
“We’ve said from the start we’re not here to be disappointed by Labour, but we’re here to replace them. And from day one of the by-election, we’ve said that Greens are the only party that could beat Reform. And I think tonight we’re seeing both of those things potentially coming true.
“I think it’s a seismic moment in British politics where Greens are showing that they’re a party that can protect the country from the threat of Reform, and that Labour’s not up to the job.”
Due to there being a socio-political divide in Gorton and Denton it was a close race between Labour, Reform UK, and the Greens. It is where some of the region’s poorest neighbourhoods sit in the shadow of affluence just miles away.
Despite Labour having taking the seat in the 2024 general election with more than 50 per cent of the vote, the party has been branded third favourite in the by-election amid a surge in support for both the Greens and Reform.
Claims of illegal ‘family voting’ sparked responses from all three parties on Thursday. This was triggered as observers claimed there were ‘extremely high’ cases of illegal ‘family voting’ at polling stations.
This is when family members enter a voting booth together and collude or direct voting intentions and is a criminal offence under the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023.
Democracy volunteers claimed to have witnessed incidents of family voting in 15 of the 22 polling stations observed. Green Party leader Zack Polanski suggested he would back a probe into family voting and support an “inquiry or further steps” if they are needed.
Reform UK chair David Bull told the BBC: “I am deeply concerned about the extent to which the Gorton and Denton parliamentary by-election is a free, fair, and democratic election.”
The election created earlier controversy as Andy Burnham was barred from standing by Labour’s National Executive Committee. The by-election presented Mr Burnham with an opportunity to re-enter the commons however the decision by the committee blocked his return to Parliament.
