Green Party triumph as green party wins Gorton and Denton amid family voting claims

The green party have won the Gorton and Denton by-election, with Hannah Spencer taking the seat. Reform came second and Labour trailed into third, while Nigel Farage said he had reported cases of "family voting" to the police.

Green Party victory and margin

Hannah Spencer, 34, a plumber, secured the Green's first ever by-election victory with 14, 980 votes, beating runner-up Reform UK and Labour, who previously held the seat, into third place. A Green Party spokesman said: "The scale of our victory shows that the Green Party has picked up substantial support in all parts of the constituency, in all areas, among all people. It was a victory for unity over division, for hope over hate. Our message to lower bills, protect the NHS and public services and for peace and human rights was a message which resonated here, to all voters in this by-election. "

Family voting claims

Nigel Farage said his Reform UK party had made a report to the police and to the Electoral Commission about alleged "family voting" in the Gorton and Denton by-election. Family voting is usually when members of the same family or household enter a voting booth together and collude or direct voting intentions. In the UK, this is a criminal offence under the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023.

Police and Electoral Commission response

Greater Manchester Police has confirmed it has received a report into claims of "family voting". A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said: "We can confirm a report has been made. We are in the process of reviewing this report and will provide a further update in due course. "

A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission said it had received a letter from Nigel Farage MP but that it did "not have a direct role in investigating allegations of electoral fraud, which is a matter for the police". The Electoral Commission spokesperson added: "We work closely with electoral administrators to offer guidance, and make sure they have arrangements in place with their local police force to respond to allegations of fraud. " The spokesperson also said: "We can confirm that we have received a letter from Nigel Farage MP. We will carefully consider the points raised in line with our role in supporting well-run elections. "

Observer findings and station counts

The official election observer group Democracy Volunteers said it saw "concerningly high levels of family voting" in Gorton and Denton. Democracy Volunteers, impartial observers allowed into polling stations, said it saw family voting in 15 of the 22 polling stations it was at across the constituency; there were 45 stations in total. They said the Gorton and Denton by-election saw the "highest levels of family voting at any election in our 10-year history of observing elections in the UK". Democracy Volunteers identified 32 instances overall and claimed one polling station saw nine cases of family voting.

Local reaction and voter views

Residents reacted with a mix of emotion to the result, describing themselves as "buzzing" and "relieved" after Hannah Spencer became their MP. Fiona Daniel said she switched from voting Labour to supporting the Greens and was "beyond buzzing" after deciding to "vote from my heart". She said she was a left-wing person who felt "we've been let down by Labour – they've not done enough - and I feel like Labour have moved to the right. "

One unnamed 42-year-old said she had worried a Green vote would be wasted but that street conversations made her think the Greens had a chance; after seeing friends suffer from addiction she backed the party's drugs policy, saying: "The war on drugs doesn't work - you can easily buy drugs. " Dale Owusu, 63, said he no longer trusted any of the parties, citing concerns about unemployment and immigration. He said: "All the young ones who are now on universal credit, [the government] should be finding them places to go in for apprenticeships or even starting it from school - getting them into work, to get more work-focused. Too many people are claiming sickness benefit. " He also said: "immigration is getting way out of hand" and that parties were afraid of "causing any reaction. " Fran Slater said he was "terrified" that Reform would win.

An anonymous man who switched from Labour to Green said he was "really, really relieved" because his primary concern was stopping Reform. He said he was unhappy with some of Labour's actions over the past years, including the party's stance on Palestine, and believed Labour had moved to the right. He blamed Keir Starmer for the loss, saying the blame "lies solely at the foot of Keir Starmer" after the party's ruling body blocked Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham's bid to stand as the Labour candidate. "I know a lot of people in the area - everybody - is a big fan of Andy Burnham and I think if Andy was going for it then I think Labour would have had a really good chance of winning, " he said.

Political fallout and wider view

The outcome left senior political figures and commentators reacting. Sir Keir Starmer said the result is "very disappointing. " Commentators noted the Greens finished first, Reform second and Labour trailing, and that the Tories lost their deposit. One analysis cited a resounding 67% of progressive voters chasing off Reform's 29% support. The analysis also referenced Reform's candidate Matt Goodwin and quoted him about "a coalition of Islamists and woke progressives. " It said the result added to a series of problems for Keir Starmer, mentioning the Epstein fallout and other troubles, and argued many visitors to the constituency found voters who said they would have supported Andy Burnham had the NEC not been fixed to block him. That view suggested Labour's prospects for May's elections had plunged even lower last night.

The analysis credited both Green leader Zack Polanski and the candidate. Since Zack Polanski was elected Green leader last summer, party membership rose from about 60, 000 to nearly 200, 000. Polanski had not faced a serious electoral test until this result. The piece described Spencer as a councillor and an "all-round good sort" widely known as "Hannah the plumber" and quoted her directly: "Instead of working for a nice life, we’re working to line the pockets of billionaires. We are being bled dry … I think that absolutely everybody should get a nice life. " It called this the Greens' first ever win in a parliamentary byelection.

Plaid Cymru and next steps

It is now over to Wales, where Plaid Cymru's leader Rhun Iorwerth is giving a speech. He will likely use today as a chance to restate Plaid as the best placed group to defenestrate Labour in Wales at the election in May.

All developments remain under review by the police and electoral administrators as the detailed claims about family voting are assessed and the political consequences of the result continue to unfold.