Gorton And Denton By-election polls open as three-way contest grips Greater Manchester
Polling stations opened at 07: 00 GMT (2: 00 a. m. ET) and will close at 22: 00 as voters in parts of Greater Manchester decide the Gorton And Denton By-election, a contest that campaigners say has become one of the most unpredictable in years.
Gorton And Denton By-election: who is standing
The ballot in the south‑east Manchester seat includes candidates from a range of parties. Labour selected Angeliki Stogia, a Labour councillor, after Andy Burnham was prevented from standing. Reform UK fielded Matt Goodwin, an academic turned GB News presenter who has faced criticism for comments on women, Muslims and British citizenship. The Green party candidate is Hannah Spencer, a Trafford councillor and plumber by trade. A separate list provided in alphabetical order names Sir Oink A‑Lot (The Official Monster Raving Loony Party) and Sebastian Moore (Social Democratic Party).
Three-way battle and the key numbers
Labour is defending a 13, 413‑vote majority in a constituency where nearly 80% of voters backed a party on the left at the 2024 election. Green party leader Zack Polanski said his party was “neck and neck” with Reform UK and warned that Labour would have to “search their conscience” if Reform were to win. Polanski, who grew up in Manchester and chose not to stand, said his party’s internal data put the Greens fractionally behind Reform, with Labour “way, way behind. ” He said his biggest fear was a scenario where Reform win by a handful of votes because Labour took a small percentage of the vote.
Polling hours, result timing and local context
Polls opened at 7am on Thursday and the result is expected to be declared overnight, with one estimate putting the declaration at about 4am on Friday. Polling stations will close at 22: 00 and the results of the by‑election are set to be declared through the night and on Friday.
Why campaigners see this as a dangerous split
Campaigners pointed to recent examples of split left votes shaping outcomes: a strategy of telling voters that “only Labour can beat Reform” echoes the messaging critics say preceded the Caerphilly by‑election loss to Plaid Cymru in October. A split on the left also helped Reform win the Runcorn and Helsby by‑election last May by six votes. Prof Will Jennings of the University of Southampton said the contest was too close to call and warned that a Labour defeat would be “terminal” for No 10’s strategy. He said the worst‑case scenario for Labour would be coming third behind Reform and the Greens, and he linked that risk to the decision to stop Andy Burnham from standing. Prof Jennings added that a Labour victory would staunch a sense of inevitability about the party’s decline and could mark a turning point for a government said to be eight points behind Reform in the polls; he also noted that any relief might be short‑lived as Labour is expected to suffer heavy losses when voters across England, Scotland and Wales go to the polls in the local and unclear in the provided context.
Assisted dying bill looks set to fall in the Lords
Separately, the assisted dying bill in the House of Lords faces a critical shortfall of debate time. Roy Kennedy, the government chief whip in the Lords, has said the government will not allocate more sitting days for the bill, which must pass before the King’s Speech in May or it will fall. The measure is currently in the Lords and, as a Private Members’ Bill, can only be dealt with on a Friday under existing rules; there are only six Fridays left. Sam Coates described the moment as “massive” and said the expectation is that the government is, in effect, not going to help the bill through and that it will therefore fall.
Jersey votes to legalise assisted dying
The Crown dependency of Jersey has voted to legalise assisted dying, becoming the second of the British Isles to do so after the Isle of Man. The context noted “The vote in Jersey’s States Assembly (parliament) was: ” but the detailed vote tally is unclear in the provided context. Jersey’s vote was described as the final legislative stage before the bill goes for royal assent in the UK. Under the measure, a person with a terminal illness who is “experiencing or is expected to experience unbearable physical suffering” and will die within six months, or 12 months if they have certain neurodegenerative conditions, will be able to choose to end their own life; eligibility will also require 12 months’ residency in Jersey. The first assisted deaths could take place there as early as next summer. Dame Esther Rantzen has led the campaign for legalisation, and Sam Coates said he had revealed that the bill in the Lords is likely to run out of time.
Results for the Gorton And Denton By-election are due through the night and on Friday, with a declaration expected at around 4am on Friday; the assisted dying bill in the Lords must clear remaining parliamentary days before the King’s Speech in May or it will fall, while Jersey’s measure now moves to royal assent and could allow the first assisted deaths as early as next summer.
