Green Party win Gorton and Denton by-election

The Green Party's Hannah Spencer has won the Gorton and Denton by-election, taking the seat from Labour and recording the party's first ever Westminster by-election victory.

Labour won with a majority of more than 13,000 in the 2024 general election and this is the first time in nearly 100 years that Gorton will not be represented by a Labour MP. The result is the sixth largest Labour majority to be overturned at a by-election since the Second World War.

The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Andrew Gwynn, who was elected Labour MP in the 2024 general election. At the time of his resignation he was sitting as an independent MP after being suspended by Labour for offensive WhatsApp messages.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, was blocked from standing as the Labour candidate, by the party's National Executive Committee.

Spencer recorded a swing of 26.4 per cent from Labour to Greens, winning more than 40 per cent of the vote.

Reform UK placed second with 28.7 per cent of the vote and Labour third with 25.4 per cent. The Conservative candidate finished fourth with 1.9 percent (their worst ever by-election result) and the Lib Dems in fifth with 1.8 per cent.

Spencer is a plumber and councillor in Trafford. She has now become the Green Party's fifth MP. In her victory speech, she said: "Working hard used to get you something. It got you a house, a nice life, holidays, it got you somewhere.

"But now working hard, what does that get you? Because talk to anyone here and they will tell you, the people work hard but can't put food on the table, can't get their kids school uniforms, can't put their heating on, can't live off the pension they worked hard to save for, can't even begin to dream about ever having a holiday, ever.

"Because life has changed. Instead of working for a nice life, we're working to line the pockets of billionaires. We are being bled dry."