Gorton and Denton saw the Greens’ first ever Westminster by-election victory on the 26th of February, and the woman who won it? A plumber from Greater Manchester. In her victory speech, Hannah Spencer, the recently elected MP and tradeswoman, said:
“Working hard used to get you something. It got you a house, a nice life, holidays, it got you somewhere.
“But now working hard, what does that get you? Because [you can] talk to anyone here and they will tell you, the people [who] work hard but can’t put food on the table, can’t get their kids school uniforms, can’t put their heating on, can’t live off the pension they worked hard to save for, can’t even begin to dream about ever having a holiday, ever.
“Because life has changed. Instead of working for a nice life, we’re working to line the pockets of billionaires. We are being bled dry.”
Her speech reflects The Green Party’s stance on billionaires, and their promises regarding taxation of the most wealthy. Zack Polanski, the most recently appointed leader of The Green Party, is quoted on the Greens’ website:
“It is a political choice to keep children in poverty whilst billionaires and multimillionaires get richer, that’s just a fact, and any politician who says otherwise doesn’t have the public’s interests at heart.”
Following the victory, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer addressed the cameras, describing the result as “disappointing” and firmly promised to continue to “fight against extremes in politics” on both the left and the right that “want to tear our country apart”. He did not respond to criticisms shared by Angela Rayner, the former deputy leader, who stated that the result was a “wake-up call” for the party to be “braver”. Labour took third in the election, leaving them defeated by both Reform UK, and The Green Party, proving Starmer’s campaign claiming that only Labour could beat Reform, wrong.
Despite Starmer’s claims that “the Labour party is the only party that can unite our country and our communities”, recent polls and defections suggest that the extremes in politics are more appealing to the masses. Could Angela Rayner’s criticisms voice what many MPs are thinking: that Labour should be more left?
Polanski appears to have no plans on stopping after the by-election, claiming that “there’s no no-go areas for the Green Party”. There’s no doubt that the Greens will be pushing for more victories across the country, and ultimately a position leading the country. If public opinion continues to sway in their favour, then Gorton and Denton may not be the last win the Greens will see.
By Lola, Yr11
Boston High School