Fury has erupted after a Green Party councillor candidate refused to shake hands with Reform UK‘s winning candidate during a by-election in Cornwall. Abigail Hubbucks awkwardly declined to shake hands with Lyndon Harrison as it was announced he had stormed to victory in the Newquay by-election.
Tense video footage shows the moment Mr Harrison extends his hand to shake Ms Hubbucks’s hand, but he quickly pulls it back as she tells him she won’t shake his hand. She then walks off, leaving him with the other candidates.
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Mr Harrison for Reform UK won the seat with 645 votes, while the Greens’ Ms Hubbucks came second with 529 votes.
Many commentators took to X to complain about Ms Hubbucks’ lack of sportsmanship, with some branding her “rude” and “childish”.
Matt Casey posted: “Green Party councillor candidate Abigail Hubbucks refuses to shake hands with Reform’s winning candidate Lyndon Harrison. The Greens are children playing at politics.”
Paul sales said: “This goes to show how pathetically childish the Green Party is!”
Marcus Gilbert added: “Utterly pathetic. The greens show how to promote divisive behaviour.”
Abigail Hubbucks awkwardly declined to shake hands with Lyndon Harrison (Image: X)
Reacting to the moment he was snubbed, Mr Harrison, the new member of Cornwall Council for the Newquay Porth & Tretherras division, told CornwallLive: “I’m rather sad that the young lady in the Green Party couldn’t shake my hand at the end. I think that does say an awful lot about the movement.
“They’re not the party of the environment anymore. They are a very different, very dangerous, creation.
“If they cannot show basic courtesy in defeat, how can they be trusted to represent the whole community? This is not progress, it is divisive and unprofessional.”
But Drew Creek, the Green councillor for Newquay Trenance and Mayor of Newquay, defended Ms Hubbucks’ actions.
He argued that shaking hands with Reform would “normalise and accept hate”.
He also claimed she had politely refused to shake his hand due to comments he allegedly made on the campaign trail.
A Green Party Cornwall spokesman told The Express: “The way hate normalises itself is by asking you to shake its hand. To smile for the cameras. To treat it as just another point of view.
“Abigail refused to do that. Quietly. Calmly. Without drama.
“Because you can respect a democratic result without legitimising what someone stands for.”