In the end, it was not even that close. The Green party has stormed to victory in Gorton and Denton, winning their first ever parliamentary by-election by more than 4,000 votes. Hannah Spencer, the new MP, pulled off an impressive result, winning 41 per cent of the vote compared to Reform’s Matt Goodwin on 29 per cent and Labour’s Angeliki Stogia in third on 26 per cent. In her victory speech, Spencer – a plumber – attributed her victory to ordinary people being ‘bled dry’ and jokingly apologised to customers who had booked in her services.

If Hannah Spencer is the clear winner, then Keir Starmer is the obvious loser. Labour’s vote has halved since the election, down here from the 50 per cent which Andrew Gwynne won in July 2024. This result is a microcosm of a trend we can expect to see play out across the country come May, as chunks of the Labour vote disappear to rivals on both left and right. Organisers here made much of the fact that they were ‘Manchester Labour’, placing their hopes in Andy Burnham’s achievements as Mayor and trying to paint themselves as a........

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