Green Party takes Gorton and Denton By Election as Labour tumbles to third
The Gorton and Denton by election, held on Thursday 26 February, produced a historic result: the Green Party won its first ever Westminster by-election, with Hannah Spencer declared the new MP. The outcome pushed Reform into second place and Labour into third, unseating a party that had not lost the area since 1931.
By Election result: Greens win Gorton and Denton
Hannah Spencer, described in coverage as a plumber-turned-politician, delivered a victory speech pledging to fight for people who feel "left behind". The win marked the Green Party's first parliamentary by-election success and came on the same day the contest was scheduled to be held, Thursday 26 February. Polling expert John Curtice noted that the Greens significantly outperformed expectations and that the result leaves British politics more uncertain than ever.
Three-way tussle and the Burnham question
The contest had been billed as a tight three-way race between Labour, Reform UK and the Greens. Chris Mason characterised the Gorton and Denton by-election as a three-way tussle. The drama around the vacancy began months earlier with questions about when and how the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, might return to Westminster; those hopes were blunted when the prime minister leaned on the bureaucratic strictures of the Labour Party to squash Burnham's ambition of running for Labour in Gorton and Denton. Observers said a Labour victory here would have given Sir Keir Starmer a psychological boost after a particularly rough start to 2026 for him.
Recent by-election pattern and Reform's momentum
This was the second Westminster by-election since the 2024 general election. Reform UK won the first, in Runcorn and Helsby last May, with Sarah Pochin taking that seat by six votes. That result formed part of a broader pattern: it was the 10th consecutive Westminster by-election in which a different party took the seat from the one that had previously held it. Commentators noted that if the anti-Reform vote splits, Reform can sometimes "nip through the middle" to victory; conversely, losses can expose the limits of Reform's momentum.
Tactical voting, FPTP critique and wider electoral context
Campaigning in Gorton and Denton featured repeated tactical appeals, with both Labour and the Green Party urging voters that they were the only realistic option to "stop Reform". The Electoral Reform Society argued the First Past The Post system is failing voters in multi-party contests. It pointed to the 2024 general election as the most disproportional ever, saying Labour secured almost two-thirds of MPs from just over one-third of votes. With Labour, the Greens and Reform all fighting strongly in this seat, the society warned it was highly plausible that the ballots of a majority of voters would be ignored under FPTP. The society contrasted that with Scotland's Single Transferable Vote system and explained how preferential voting allows transfers so ballots count toward a majority winner.
Polling-day concerns and reactions
Election observers said they witnessed "concerningly high" levels of "family voting" at polling stations; that claim was disputed by the council. Green Party leader Zack Polanski told the "people are ready for an alternative to Labour. " Coverage notes the Caerphilly Senedd by-election in October, where Labour was usurped by both Plaid Cymru and Reform, and the wider sense that non-traditional parties on the left and right are reshaping contest dynamics.
Edited by Dulcie Lee, Sam Hancock and Jack Burgess, with political editor Chris Mason in Manchester, and with Henry Zeffman as chief political correspondent, the reporting tracked how tactical questions and changing alliances reshaped the result. The precise next scheduled political event or official timetable following the Gorton and Denton result is unclear in the provided context.
