‘Labour Is Finished’: Councillor Rages on GB News After Baffling By-Election
The Green Party’s unexpected victory in the Gorton and Denton by-election has intensified the debate over Labour’s electoral position, with a councillor telling GB News that the result had prompted concerns among Labour figures about what comes next.
The dramatic result saw Labour pushed into third place behind the Greens and Reform UK. Hannah Spencer, the Green Party candidate, won the constituency with 14,980 votes, taking 40.7 per cent of the vote. Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin finished second with 10,578 votes, while Labour candidate Angeliki Stogia received 9,364.
The result was particularly striking because Labour had won the constituency at the 2024 general election with more than 18,500 votes and a majority of approximately 13,400. The party’s defeat therefore represented a substantial change in the political balance of the area.
For Labour activists and councillors elsewhere in England, the question was whether Gorton and Denton represented an unusual local contest or a sign of a wider change in voter behaviour.
One Labour councillor in Birmingham told the Birmingham Dispatch after the result that several people had contacted them saying the Manchester result made them think “Labour is finished here”. The comment reflected concern among some Labour representatives, although it should be understood as an individual political reaction rather than an established assessment of the party’s national prospects.
A Result That Defied the Previous Pattern
Gorton and Denton had long been associated with Labour.
The constituency was created for the 2024 general election from parts of the former Manchester Gorton and Denton and Reddish constituencies. Labour won the newly created seat comfortably in 2024, with Reform UK finishing second.
The by-election produced a completely different order.
The Greens moved into first place, Reform remained competitive in second, and Labour fell to third.
That three-way result is one of the most important features of the contest.
It means the election cannot simply be described as a direct transfer of Labour voters to the Greens. Reform also attracted a significant share of the vote, particularly in parts of the constituency where concerns about immigration and national political issues were prominent.
The result instead demonstrated that Labour faced challenges from different political directions simultaneously.
The Green Party’s Breakthrough
For the Greens, the result was historic.
Hannah Spencer became the party’s new MP after winning 40.7 per cent of the vote. The victory represented the Greens’ first parliamentary by-election win and provided Zack Polanski’s leadership with a major parliamentary breakthrough.
Green campaigners had spent considerable effort in the constituency before polling day.
The campaign targeted communities in Gorton and Longsight, including voters from the large Muslim population. Campaigners used Urdu and Punjabi as part of their efforts to communicate with residents.
Before polling day, Hyphen reported that Green campaigner Fesl Reza-Khan was telling voters that Labour was finished and presenting the Greens as the party capable of challenging Reform. The same report found that many local voters remained undecided, while others expressed frustration with established parties.
That campaign strategy became important when the votes were counted.
The Greens were able to attract support from voters who had previously backed Labour, while also benefiting from the decision by the Workers Party of Britain not to contest the by-election.
The Workers Party had previously won around 10 per cent of the vote in the wider area at the general election and chose to support the Greens instead.
Labour’s Fall to Third
The biggest numerical change was Labour’s decline.
The party received 9,364 votes, putting it behind both the Greens and Reform.
For a constituency in which Labour had previously enjoyed a large majority, the result was significant.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the outcome as “very disappointing” while saying that voters were impatient for change. Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner called the result a “wake-up call”.
The party therefore faced two separate challenges.
The first came from Reform among voters who had traditionally supported Labour but were increasingly concerned about immigration, public services, national identity and the direction of government.
The second came from the Greens, who appealed to voters dissatisfied with Labour from a different political perspective.
This combination makes the Gorton and Denton result particularly difficult to interpret through the traditional Labour-versus-Conservative framework.
Reform’s Strong Second Place
Reform UK did not win the by-election, but its second-place finish is an important part of the result.
Matt Goodwin secured 28.7 per cent of the vote, more than four percentage points ahead of Labour.
Reform’s campaign focused heavily on immigration and dissatisfaction with the political establishment.
Its performance also meant that Labour could no longer rely on the argument that it was automatically the main alternative to Reform in a constituency where the Conservatives had become electorally weak.
That is one reason the result attracted attention beyond Greater Manchester.
If Labour is challenged simultaneously by Reform and the Greens, tactical voting becomes more complicated. Voters who want to oppose one party may have to decide which challenger is actually competitive in their particular constituency.
Gorton and Denton demonstrated how quickly that calculation can change.
Why the Local Context Matters
The constituency’s demographics also played a role in the campaign.
Hyphen reported that Longsight has a large Muslim population and that issues including Gaza, the cost of living, NHS services, housing and local safety were important among voters interviewed before polling day.
Some voters expressed disappointment with Labour, while others remained loyal to the party.
There was no single explanation for voter behaviour.
Some residents were considering the Greens because of Labour’s position on Gaza and local services. Others were interested in Reform because of immigration. Some continued to support Labour because of longstanding political loyalties.
That diversity of motivations is important when assessing the result.
A by-election can reveal shifts in voter behaviour, but it cannot automatically establish that every voter who left Labour did so for the same reason.
The “Labour Is Finished” Argument
The phrase “Labour is finished” has become part of the political reaction to the result.
But the evidence supports a more cautious interpretation.
Labour clearly suffered a major defeat in Gorton and Denton. The party fell from first to third place and lost a seat it had won comfortably at the previous general election. The result also demonstrated that the Greens could defeat Labour in an area with a long Labour tradition.
However, one by-election cannot establish that Labour has ceased to be electorally competitive across the country.
By-elections are unusual political events. Turnout can be different from a general election, campaigns are concentrated on one constituency and voters can use their ballots to express views about the government without necessarily intending to support the same party at a general election.
Professor John Curtice subsequently warned against reading the result simply as a judgment on Starmer’s leadership. His analysis suggested that the contest also reflected longer-term changes in Labour’s traditional coalition, including the weakening of support among some working-class and minority-background voters.
A Challenge From Two Directions
The most significant lesson for Labour may therefore be the emergence of competition from two different directions.
Reform has been attempting to attract voters concerned about immigration, taxation, public services and national identity.
The Greens have been attempting to attract voters who believe Labour has moved too far from progressive positions on issues such as Gaza, public services, climate policy and living costs.
Gorton and Denton demonstrated that both challenges can operate within the same constituency.
That creates a different electoral problem from the one Labour faced when the principal contest was against the Conservatives.
If Labour loses voters to Reform, the Greens can potentially benefit.
If Labour loses progressive voters to the Greens, Reform can potentially benefit.
The result can therefore become a three-way contest in which relatively small changes in support have large consequences.
What the Result Means for the Greens
The Greens emerged from the contest with a parliamentary victory and considerable political attention.
Zack Polanski described the result as evidence that the traditional two-party model was changing. The party argued that voters were increasingly prepared to consider alternatives to Labour and the Conservatives.
Spencer’s victory also gave the Greens a platform from which to demonstrate how the party would operate in Parliament.
But the challenge for the Greens will be different from winning one by-election.
The party will need to determine whether the coalition assembled in Gorton and Denton can be reproduced elsewhere. Local issues, candidate profiles, demographic patterns and tactical voting all vary between constituencies.
The victory is therefore evidence of electoral potential in one constituency, rather than proof of a uniform national trend.
Labour’s Next Challenge
For Labour, the immediate issue is how to interpret the defeat.
The party cannot ignore the fact that it finished third in a constituency it previously held with a large majority.
At the same time, it must decide whether the answer lies in changing policy, changing its campaign strategy, rebuilding local organisation or addressing specific concerns among groups that have become less supportive.
The comments from Labour councillors show that the result has generated anxiety beyond the constituency itself. The Birmingham Dispatch reported that one councillor said colleagues had been contacting them about whether the Manchester result could have implications for their own council.
That does not establish what will happen in future elections, but it demonstrates how quickly a local result can influence political discussion elsewhere.
A More Fragmented Political Landscape
Gorton and Denton ultimately produced a result that was difficult to fit into Britain’s traditional electoral narrative.
The Greens won.
Reform finished second.
Labour came third.
The Conservatives were far behind.
The result therefore illustrated the increasing fragmentation of British politics, with voters able to choose among several parties with distinct political agendas.
For Labour, the defeat is clearly a serious political development. For the Greens, the victory provides a historic parliamentary breakthrough. For Reform, second place demonstrates that the party remains a significant competitor in a former Labour stronghold.
The phrase “Labour is finished” captures the anger and frustration expressed by some political figures after the result, but the official numbers tell a more precise story.
Labour has lost substantial support in Gorton and Denton. The Greens have gained ground. Reform has also established a strong position.
What happens beyond this constituency will depend on whether these voting patterns are repeated elsewhere, whether Labour changes its approach, and whether the Greens and Reform can maintain the support they demonstrated in this particular contest.
For now, the Gorton and Denton result is best understood not as a final verdict on Labour, but as a striking example of how Britain’s electoral map has become more competitive and fragmented.
