Victorious Greens hail pro-Palestine stance in Gorton and Denton by-election win
Candidate Hannah Spencer says she is 'standing up for Palestine'
The Green Party has triumphed in the Gorton and Denton by-election, with their candidate openly declaring that “standing up for people in Palestine” was central to her campaign.
In a major blow to Keir Starmer, Hannah Spencer—a councillor and plumber—secured victory for the Greens with 14,980 votes and a majority of 4,402.
Labour’s Angeliki Stogia finished third, trailing behind Reform UK’s candidate Matt Goodwin, who received 10,578 votes.
Stogia garnered 9,364 votes, a sharp decline from the 18,555 Labour won in the 2024 general election, despite a similar turnout.
Both Green and Labour officials later acknowledged that the government’s stance on Gaza influenced the result, with supporters of Zack Polanski’s party waving Palestinian flags in the streets and declaring Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide.
When asked about her use of foreign policy as a campaign issue, Spencer said: “I am really clear and really proud about my record of standing up for people in Palestine. But that’s just the same record of standing up for people here in Greater Manchester because, whether it’s on our doorsteps or across the world, if somebody is being oppressed or is suffering injustice, I will always speak up for that.”
Labour sources had previously believed they retained the support of the Muslim vote in the seat, but the result clearly indicated that their data was inaccurate.
Starmer is now facing renewed calls to stand down and for his party to adopt a more left-wing stance, including a stronger anti-Israel position, to win back lost progressive voters.
Reports of illegal voting also surfaced during the by-election. Independent election observers noted “concerningly high levels of family voting,” where more than one person votes together in a polling booth—a practice that is illegal.
Reform leader Nigel Farage suggested that “family voting” had occurred within the Muslim community. David Bull, Reform UK’s chairman, stated: “There are reported attempts… where you saw family voting. That is where a husband and wife, for example, go into the polling booth together and cast their vote together.
“That is illegal; it needs to be stamped out. What I don’t understand is how that happened in these polling stations. Clearly, there must be a huge problem here.”
However, Bull acknowledged that the reported 32 instances across 15 polling stations were not enough to affect the overall result.
During the election campaign leaflets were distributed in Urdu, saying that voters should “make Labour pay” and accusing them of pushing “racist, dog-whistle gutter policies”.
On the leaflet, Spencer is wearing a keffiyeh, the Middle Eastern scarf commonly associated with Palestine.
A message in Urdu on the front of the leaflet said: “Push the falling walls one more time. Labour must be punished for Gaza. Reform must be defeated, and Green must be voted for. Vote for the Green Party for a strong voice for Muslims.”
Another campaign video David Lammy, the deputy prime minister, shaking hands with Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel.
The video cuts to aerial footage of Gaza as Spencer, speaking in Urdu, says: “Politicians aren’t working for us.”
Earlier this week a cabinet minister told The Times:“The Greens are whipping up hatred and deliberately raising the salience of Gaza. They’re hammering us. They’re a totally different party to the one we thought they were. They’re just like Respect — it’s like fighting a by-election against George Galloway.”
Last month, Jewish News revealed Spencer above a photograph of Labour’s former deputy leader Angela Rayner lighting a candle for Holocaust Memorial Day, Spencer had written in a post on X: “‘Never again’ but still selling arms to Israel.”
She also responded to a post on X showing Rayner visiting the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp that criticised Rayner’s visit as “performative” amid a “real ongoing genocide” in Gaza.
Writing for the BBC in the aftermath of Thursday result, election expert Sir John Curtice noted:” Labour lost ground heavily in 2024 in seats with substantial Muslim-identifying populations, largely as a result of Labour’s initial stance at least on Israel’s actions in Gaza.
“The Greens were often among the apparent beneficiaries. Indeed, in Gorton and Denton itself Labour’s vote fell at the last election by 16 points.
“Now, assisted by the decision of George Galloway’s Workers Party not to contest a seat where it won 10% of the vote in the general election, the Greens were able to forge ahead among the many Muslim voters in the Gorton half of the constituency.
“That, together with the party’s strength among younger voters, provided the basis of the party’s success.”
Greens leader Zack Polanski said after the victory “People everywhere will now know that voting Green is the way to defeat Reform.
“Many ex-Labour voters told our canvassers that they will never go back to a party that supports genocide, fuels racism, and has failed to deliver on its promise to improve life for people across the country.”
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