A certain question has been hanging in the air ever since the 2024 general election, when between them the Conservatives and Labour won less than three-fifths of the vote. But following the Greens’ success in the Gorton & Denton by-election, it has now become an even more pressing issue. Can the Conservative-Labour duopoly that has dominated British politics during the post-war period survive?

Both parties received a drubbing in yesterday’s by-election. Labour’s share of the vote was nearly halved from 50.8 per cent in 2024 to 25.4 per cent, leaving the party trailing in third place behind Reform. The Conservatives fared even worse, winning just 1.9 per cent of the vote, the party’s lowest ever share in a by-election. That means that fewer than three in ten votes were cast for Britain’s two traditionally dominant parties.

Contrast that with the position in the 1990s. In the 1992 election, for example, the two parties won 87 per cent of the vote between them in the former Denton & Reddish constituency and 82 per cent in Manchester Gorton. Such figures now look like relics of a different era.

The challenge facing the Conservative-Labour duopoly extends beyond their mere unpopularity

The challenge facing the Conservative-Labour duopoly extends beyond their mere unpopularity

Of course, by-elections can be the exception rather than the rule. Previous........

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