Yesterday’s by-election in Gorton and Denton was a tough night for all of us in the Labour Party. We put up a hell of a fight, and so many of you worked incredibly hard, but in the end we fell short. The Green Party won the contest with 40.6% of the vote, Reform UK came second with 28.7%, and Labour finished third on 25.4%. It is undeniably a disappointing result. I want to extend my sincere thanks to everyone who stood with us on the doorstep – from Tameside Labour volunteers to my parliamentary colleagues who travelled from across the country to support the campaign. I also want to pay tribute to Angeliki Stogia as an exceptional candidate who worked tirelessly, day and night, and she would have been a superb MP for Gorton & Denton. As my colleague Heidi Alexander said on BBC Breakfast this morning, we will take time to reflect on what happened, listen carefully, and learn the lessons we need to take into the May elections.
I want to offer my sincere congratulations to Hannah Spencer, the newly elected MP. Over my years representing Stalybridge and Hyde, I’ve worked alongside MPs from every party, and I have always believed in building constructive relationships with neighbouring constituencies. I’ll be reaching out to Hannah for a cup of tea once she has taken her seat, and I look forward to working with her on the issues our communities share.
Naturally, I am disappointed by what was a tough result for Labour. While it’s true that governments often lose by-elections, you always want to win them. But it’s important not to confuse by-elections with general elections. Between 2010 and 2015, the Conservatives won just one out of more than twenty by-elections — and then went on to win the 2015 general election decisively with an increased vote share. The Greens deserve recognition for their significant win last night, but it is also fair to say that positions like leaving NATO or substantially raising taxes are not ones that would be supported in a general election, when people vote knowing there is a real prospect of those policies being implemented.
Over the coming months, we will have an even stronger story to tell about the change this Labour government is delivering. In the past week alone, we’ve seen inflation fall, government borrowing fall, retail sales rise, business confidence rise, and a record budget surplus reported nationally. Those are clear signs that the country is beginning to turn a corner, even if many people in Gorton & Denton have not yet felt that improvement in their own pockets or household bills. But the impact of our decisions is coming: £117 off energy bills this April, the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation, new protections for nine million renters, NHS waiting lists continuing to come down, and policies that will lift half a million children out of poverty. All of this reflects the choices we have made – responsible, fair, focused choices that put working people first and turn the page on years of instability and division.
It’s also important to remember that the majority of voters in Gorton and Denton wanted to stop Reform. Reform UK might have wealthy backers and loud media cheerleaders, but their victory is not inevitable — far from it. When the general election comes, only Labour is in a position to stop Reform across the country. The Conservatives barely featured in this contest, and it’s clear they are no longer the main alternative in seats like ours.
But I do want to speak honestly about one aspect of this campaign that troubled me. I’ve been involved in politics in Greater Manchester since I moved here in 1998, and I’ve always felt we conduct ourselves better than in many other parts of the country. Yet it’s hard to escape the feeling that politics has become meaner, more divisive and angrier than ever before. Even the Greens – a party often associated with a gentler approach – put out some questionable material. Meanwhile, a van was driven around attacking the Greens which had absolutely nothing to do with us. None of this helps our democracy. Good politics brings people together to solve problems. Everyone involved in public life should remember that.
Finally, I want to thank everyone who worked so hard on this campaign, especially the volunteers who gave up their evenings and weekends to speak to voters. And a particular thank you to Angeliki Stogia, who was an excellent Labour candidate and someone I was proud to campaign alongside. Campaigns are hard fought, and while this result was not what we hoped for, the work our team put in made a real difference and will continue to do so as we look ahead.