By Conor Payne
The recent by-election in Gorton and Denton in Manchester could change the dynamics of British politics. The Greens’ Hannah Spencer sensationally won in this previously safe Labour seat, with 40.7% of the vote. Far-right Reform UK came second with 28.7%, while Labour were pushed into third place with 25.4%. The Conservative Party received less than 2%, believed to be their worst ever by-election result.
This result is a disaster for Labour, whose support collapsed, reflecting trends across Britain. Labour may seek to recover by dispensing with Keir Starmer and finding a new face to lead the party, but the result is not ultimately about individuals. It reflects Labour’s fundamental betrayal of its support base and the massive anger that exists around issues such as their continuation of austerity, support for genocide in Gaza, pandering to the far right and revelations around the Epstein files and Starmer’s appointment of Epstein’s friend, Peter Mandelson, as Ambassador to the US.
The result was an important defeat for Reform, which put huge resources into trying to win the seat. Nonetheless, it still doubled its vote compared to the 2024 election in a difficult constituency for it. The threat of Reform and a far-right government is very much alive, but the campaign does have lessons for how a positive programme from the left can challenge that threat.
Green Victory
But the big change in this election was the victory of the Greens, standing on a clearly left-of-Labour platform and giving expression to the anger of huge numbers of former Labour voters and the latent desire for a left alternative. The Greens campaigned on challenging wealth inequality, opposing racism and the far right and for solidarity with Palestine. Their candidate, Hannah Spencer, is a working-class woman who stated in her victory speech: “Instead of working for a nice life, we’re working to line the pockets of billionaires. We are being bled dry… we are sick of our hard work making other people rich.” It’s a positive indication of what’s possible that such a message was able to win a clear victory.
Labour had tried to present the by-election as a contest between themselves and Reform, publicly discounting the Greens and hoping to thus contrive enough people into voting for them ‘tactically’. This was a microcosm of their planned strategy to re-elect their incredibly unpopular government; tell voters the election is a straight choice between themselves and Farage. Such an approach would also suit Reform who would prefer to be the only ‘anti-establishment’ alternative to a hated government. However, instead, the by-election shows the potential for a third pole in politics that challenges both Labour and Reform from the left. Some opinion polls since the by-election have placed the Greens as the second-largest force after Reform, and the biggest among those aged under 65!
Islamophobic smear campaign
While the Greens won support across the constituency, an important feature of the election was the strong support from Muslim communities. Muslims make up 30% of Gorton and Denton’s population. Traditionally a strong demographic for Labour, Muslims have recently turned away from the party in droves and in this byelection many voted Green. This is in line with society generally as Labour are losing support across the board. However, there has been particularly pronounced anger in Muslim communities due to anger at Labour’s support for genocide in Gaza and turn to the right on immigration. Muslims are also disproportionately impacted by the austerity, poverty and neglect that affect all working-class communities.
Following the by-election, the discussion in establishment circles has focused on accusing the Greens and Muslim communities of ‘sectarian’ campaigning and voting. This barely disguised Islamophobic racism attempts to delegitimise Muslims voting and participating politically, as well as parties campaigning on Palestine solidarity. It’s also an attempt to write off a left message as appealing ‘only’ to ‘certain communities’ and thus undermine the broader significance of the result. These racist dogwhistles are not only coming from Reform or the right-wing press but also from Labour.
Can the Greens be a real alternative?
This by-election victory vindicates the ‘left turn’ taken by the Greens under Zack Polanski who was elected party leader last year. It shows that a left alternative has the potential to win massive support and is the best answer to the rise of Reform. However, as we have seen in practice in Ireland and throughout Europe, Green parties are not organically rooted in left politics or working-class struggle. They tend to be dominated by middle-class liberals, to seek to address ecological issues within the narrow limits of capitalism and thus to become participants in business-as-usual right-wing governments. This approach actually sets back the struggle to save the planet. The Greens in England and Wales contain many who share this conservative outlook and who hold significant institutional power within the party.
The Greens have 859 councillors across England and Wales, who, unfortunately, have been willing to implement austerity in councils where they have a majority. Last March, the Greens imposed cuts to the tune of £50 million on vital services in Bristol. At the same time, Green Party membership has more than tripled to over 200,000 and those joining will be mainly people seeking a real left alternative. To transform the Greens into a genuine working-class and left party, Polanski and his supporters would have to be willing to base themselves on these fresh people and if necessary, take on the right-wing of the party. They also need to give a firm commitment to rule out imposing austerity budgets and demand that resources are given to fund local government, linking this to a strategy of mobiling working-class communities and workers in struggle.
In some ways, the Greens are filling a vacuum created by the failure of Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s ‘Your Party’ to fulfil its potential. A much more natural vehicle for a rebuilding of socialist and left politics, hundreds of thousands initially signed up to ‘Your Party’. Opinion polls showed it as high as 16% before its official launch. This potential has been so far stymied by the spectre of public infighting and the narrow, bureaucratic approach of Corbyn’s conservative faction which favours something highly controlled over a mass membership party.
However, ‘Your Party’ could still play an important role if it is built as a distinct working-class and socialist force with a focus on building struggle in workplaces and communities, while also maintaining an open approach to those who look to the Greens as a radical alternative. Such a force could help bring together the elements of a new mass political movement of workers and oppressed people to challenge the capitalist establishment and the far right. The Gorton and Denton by-election shows the real potential for such an alternative to be built.
