Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s British Labor Party lost a constituency near Manchester on Thursday that the party had held for almost a century. The by-election for a vacant House of Commons seat in the Gorton and Denton constituency was won by the Greens. Reuters reports this.
The painful loss of one of Labour’s safest seats, more than a year and a half after the party’s resounding election victory, puts further pressure on Starmer after weeks of political unrest and calls for his resignation.
The Greens’ Hannah Spencer will become the new Member of House for Gorton and Denton. Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration party Reform UK finished second, while Labor had to settle for third place. The result was “clearly disappointing”, said Labor party leader Anna Turley.
Significant drop
Starmer had staked his personal authority on a Labor victory in the district. He blocked a candidacy from his rival Andy Burnham, the popular mayor of Manchester. He also visited the constituency this week, although British leaders usually avoid doing so if they risk losing the seat.
In the 2024 national election, Labor won just over half the votes in Gorton and Denton. But Starmer’s unpopularity, slow economic growth and a series of scandals contributed to a sharp decline in support for the party.
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The Greens won 40.7 percent of the vote, while the Reform Party finished second with 28.7 percent. Labor came third with 25.4 percent.
According to Labor MPs, Starmer’s position would probably not be immediately threatened if Labor lost. However, this could happen if Labor performs poorly as expected in local and regional elections in May, including for the parliaments in Wales and Scotland.
It was the first time that the Greens, who support leaving NATO and legalizing recreational drugs, won a one-off election for a seat in the House of Commons. The party’s total number of seats is five out of 650.
