Dean Morrison #FBPE #Breturn

Labour risk being wiped out by Reform in the 'red wall' type metros - Barnsley, Calderdale, Wakefield, Sunderlands tec - and being wiped out by the Greens in what we may now need to start calling the 'Green wall' - diverse, student & grad heavy Lab areas where Reform are no threat

This May's local & devolved elecs - which already looked set to be grim for Labour - may become apocalyptic if the Greens surge in the wake of this victory. So many Labour seats in Green friendly territory are up - all seats in inner London and in Birmingham, and many seats in Mancs, Sheffield etc

As I noted in my opening Swingometer profile of the seat this result - Green win over Reform with Labour third - is the nightmare scenario for the incumbent government. They have fallen into the electoral Valley of Death. Rejected in the centre. Rejected on the right. And now rejected on the left

Gorton and Denton first thoughts - incredible result for the Greens who won the long battle to be the best placed anti-Reform candidate - helped by being the obvious anti-Labour candidate for disappointed progressives. As I noted in the Observer last month, a Revolt on the Left is growing

As far as I can tell from afar the most positive campaign, the one that offered some suggestion of hope, won. And that has to be a good thing for politics, because yes we need to confront the trade-offs, but there has to be an underlying positive message.

This morning, UK media will no doubt focus on Labour and Reform, and what the defeat means for both and either, instead of analysing what The Greens and Hannah Spencer have achieved, why and how.

And it's this negative, sensationalist attitude that we're all so thoroughly tired of.

Poor Matt Goodwin. All he ever wanted was to be a hard working MP/academic/tv presenter/commentator/writer/pollster/wealth adviser/women’s health guru and you all ripped that away from him. A shame

“I don’t think the progressives beat us,” he added. “I think the progressives were told how to vote and I think what you saw was a coalition of Islamists and woke progressives that came together to dominate the constituency.”

Or, as some would call it Matt, democracy.

Yep she seemed like a nice woman to be fair.
Although she tacitly endorsed Labour's dirty tricks.

Well well well. A new dawn in British politics. The centre is dead. A party who openly challenges hateful and divisive policies and the public WANT IT. It’s not a done deal that Reform can win on a platform which says Muslims and migrants don’t belong.

So the candidate who left school at 16 with no A-Levels and who's spent her whole adult life vocational, manual jobs beat the ivory tower academic turned cushy media pundit, but you can be sure we'll still get plenty more casual description of the latter as "white working class".

MASSIVE CONGRATS TO HANNAH SPENCER!

Greens win Gorton & Denton by-election. 💚

Seen the Telegraph today. Impossible to distinguish between their headlines and spoof.

YES GORTON & DENTON!!!!

Despite Reform being rammed down our throats, the good people of D & G saw through it!

Hope Beats Hate: Green Party Defeats Reform and Labour in Huge Gorton and Denton By-Election Victory A concerted political and media campaign to scare voters about a “Green Menace” winning this by-election failed, reports Adam Bienkov

🔴Hope Beats Hate: Green Party Defeats Reform and Labour in Huge Gorton and Denton By-Election Victory

A concerted political and media campaign to scare voters about a “Green Menace” winning this by-election failed, reports @adambienkov.bsky.social

bylinetimes.com/2026/02/27/h...

Turns out bots can’t vote.

Gorton & Denton by-election, 2026 Source: Britain Elects SIAIS r EFTIES Green GAIN from Labour 40.7 28.7 25.4 1.9 1.8 Grn 427.5 Ref 414.6 Lab 725.4 Con 76.0 Lib 72.0 1.4 Oth 78.9

Starmer:

“If you don’t like our policies you can leave.”

Voters:

Hope Beats Hate: Green Party Defeats Reform and Labour in Huge Gorton and Denton By-Election Victory A concerted political and media campaign to scare voters about a “Green Menace” winning this by-election failed, reports Adam Bienkov

In a battle between hope and hate, hope won out.

Why voters rejected the hateful politics of Reform and instead embraced the "Green Menace" in Gorton and Denton

bylinetimes.com/2026/02/27/h...

Labour has a stonking majority & their conference voted for it.
But they won't do it because they still think FPTP works for them.

So you're admitting Labour aren't a left wing party any more but 'centre'?
You could equally claim the centre & right beat the Greens.
Maybe Labour should pull back from chasing Farage voters & get back to its roots?

'I didn't grow up wanting to be a politician, I'm a plumber'

The green Party's Hannah Spencer has won the Gorton and Denton, with Reform in second and Labour finished third

Hannah Spencer, newly elected MP for Gorton and Denton, said: "Because working hard used to get you something.

"But now, what does that get you?

"Instead of working for a nice life, we're working to line the pockets of billionaires."

LOL

Jake Wallis Simons The Greens’ extremist victory pushes Britain one step closer to the abyss Polanski’s party has embraced sectarianism with open arms. It will be the death of the British liberal tradition

This kind of stuff isn’t going to work when the new Green MP is a white working class plumber.

It's indistinguishable from spoof:

So the Telegraph is taking this well

Watch: 'Working hard used to get you something', says victorious Green Party candidate In her acceptance speech, Hannah Spencer said she was “no different from every single person in this constituency”.

I’m so glad Hannah Spencer won, she seems like an honest, hardworking person who gives a fuck.

I hope she does well for the people of that constituency.

Here’s her speech

www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...

Many Green have previously lent their votes to Labour. This puts an end to the need to do that.