For the long-marginalised British left, parliamentary byelections aren’t usually cause for much excitement. But Gorton and Denton is different. Polls, bookmakers and tactical-voting websites name the Greens as the close-run favourites, and thousands of activists have been knocking on doors for “Hannah the plumber”, a popular local councillor and proud owner of four beautiful greyhounds. What is particularly interesting about this week’s byelection is that it represents a politics of competing populisms that bypasses the classic Labour-Tory duopoly, with the Greens and Reform UK thrashing it out to be the rising force to take on the political establishment.

It is also the first time the Greens have looked like a majoritarian political project. Hannah Spencer didn’t go to university and isn’t part of the professional classes. She defies the typical image of a Green candidate and has the potential to reach beyond their usual voters. As left parties across Europe struggle to attract non-graduates, and politics becomes more polarised, running candidates such as Spencer – who in many ways conforms to Reform’s idealised image of Britain – is a powerful move. If the Green party leader Zack Polanski is serious about taking on Reform and replacing Labour as the left-of-centre party, he will need to contend with an electoral system that privileges small-town and rural seats. Running more Spencers must be part of the plan.

Your Party is in quite a different place. With elections for its all-important central executive committee having ended yesterday (and results to be announced on Thursday), the party is riven by factionalism, navel-gazing and the tyranny of small differences. Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn stood on opposing slates, and activists from both sides have been tearing chunks out of each other on social media.

At least there are genuine strategic........

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