Becky Morton
Political reporter

Image source, PA Media

In a letter to Labour MPs, Prime Minister Keir Starmer accuses new Green Party MP Hannah Spencer of being "more interested in dividing people than uniting them".

He says the Greens have capitalised on an endorsement from George Galloway’s Workers Party of Britain – which won 10% of the vote in the constituency in 2024 but did not stand in the by-election - and his "divisive, sectarian politics".

The PM also attacks the Green Party policy of legalising all drugs and says they "simply do not have the resources, the activist base or the local knowledge to replicate this victory across the country".

Spencer has dismissed accusations of sectarian politics, insisting her party had united voters with commons concerns about the cost of living, public services and the war in Gaza.

With Labour struggling, Scottish Greens will hope to benefit from a Polanski bouncepublished at 12:52 GMT

12:52 GMT

Phil Sim
Scotland political correspondent

It may be a local by-election in Manchester, but there has been keen interest in the by-election result in Scotland given the looming polls here.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar had already sought to distance himself from the UK leadership of Keir Starmer.

But this is still undoubtedly a blow for the Scottish outfit as they gather for their pre-election conference in Paisley.

They need a big swing from the Scottish National Party (SNP) if they are to win seats at Holyrood - and this by-election is another data point which shows them heading in the wrong direction.

If Labour is suffering from a Starmer slump, then the Scottish Greens are hoping they can benefit from a Zack Polanski bounce.

But the Scottish Greens will only be standing in a dozen or so constituencies in the May local elections, preferring instead to focus their efforts on the regional list element of Holyrood's proportional representation electoral system.

That means the kind of targeted, issue-driven campaigning which succeeded in Gorton and Denton may not translate in the same way to a broader-based nationwide campaign in Scotland.

The presence of Reform UK is an interesting one too, with multiple parties now trying to set themselves up as the "anti-Reform" vote.

That complicates the already tangled picture of tactical voting across Scotland, where every constituency tends to be a race between the SNP and the party most likely to challenge them locally - either Labour, the Conservatives or Lib Dems.

It adds yet another layer of intrigue to what is already shaping up as a fiercely-fought contest.

Image source, Getty Images

In Scotland, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar says the outcome of the Gorton and Denton by-election is "clearly a disappointing result".

"I think it demonstrates that people everywhere feel angry, feel frustrated. And the electorate is volatile."

But, he says, "we do need to be careful not to have an automatic read across to what's happening in Scotland, because of course in Scotland, the establishment for the last 20 years has been the SNP, and I think that'll be a very different framing for an election in 10 weeks time here".

Asked about his call, earlier this month, for Keir Starmer to stand down, Sarwar adds: "I said what I said in the context of what I believed were standards that I can accept, or things that I was not willing to tolerate."

Harvey Stevens
Radio 4's The World at One

I've been calling around to some Labour MPs to get their reactions to the party's loss in Gorton and Denton.

One says there will be a "crisis for Starmer after the May elections".

Another tells me they're unsure whether they still backed the prime minister, saying they will "wait and see what he does this weekend". They also said a reshuffle "needs to happen", presumably referring to Starmer's cabinet.

One said that they were backing the prime minister - but they're "not sure for how much longer".

And from another: "There's no doubt this will put Keir under pressure. But I would caution colleagues to put the country and stability first."

Andrew Rogers
Reporting from Gorton and Denton

I've been speaking to young people in the Gorton and Denton constituency as they react to the Green Party’s historic victory here.

For teenager Oscar, who has grown up in the area, the win is an “optimistic thing”.

“I'm happy about it personally, I'm 17 so I couldn't vote in the by-election but I was hoping for the Greens to win,” he tells me .

“I was a bit worried actually that Reform would win. The fact that the Green Party has won, I think it's quite an optimistic thing for British politics at the moment.”

Oscar tells BBC Newsbeat that his friends who are migrants were “scared” of Reform getting in.

“I think you can tell that people are sort of at breaking point. It's got to the point where they're voting more to extremes and I guess that's just a sign of people being fed up.”

Image source, EPA

The result: At about 04:30 GMT, it was announced that the Greens had won the Gorton and Denton by-election with 14,980 votes, beating Reform UK who came second with 10,578, and Labour who finished third on 9,364.

What the Greens said: Spencer, a plumber-turned-politician, told a victory rally she was voted in because constituents are "sick of being told there's no alternative". Meanwhile, the party's leader Zack Polanski said their "seismic" victory had "torn the roof off" British politics. Here's a closer look at how all the parties performed.

How the PM responded: Keir Starmer called the result "disappointing", but said governments "quite often" get results like this mid-term. Asked if he should've let Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham stand - the view of some Labour MPs - Starmer instead commended the party's candidate Angeliki Stogia.

Other politicians also had their say: Reform UK has been celebrating its success, with chair David Bull saying he is "absolutely thrilled" and that Starmer "is in big trouble". Meanwhile, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused Labour, Reform, and the Greens of trying to "break" the country.

An update on so-called family voting: Greater Manchester Police told the BBC it's received "no reports" of electoral offences at the by-election. It comes after Democracy Volunteers, an election observer organisation, said members had seen so-called family voting at polling stations - a claim Manchester City Council has disputed.

What does all this mean? Ourcorrespondents share their thoughts: The result shows just how fragmented British politics has become, our chief political correspondent Henry Zeffman wrote earlier. Meanwhile, the BBC's political editor Chris Mason added: The Greens are remoulded and re-energised under Polanski.

Image source, PA Media

We're now hearing from Kemi Badenoch for the first time since the by-election result.

The Tory leader says Labour's loss to the Greens "shows Keir Starmer’s premiership is finished".

"He lost authority a long time ago, a mere hostage at the mercy of a divided Labour Party that cannot decide who to replace him with," a statement says. "He has lost the support of his voters, his MPs and the country. He is in office but not in power. If he had any integrity he would go."

"Our country is not broken," Badenoch says in a post on X, external, "but this by-election showed that Labour, Reform and the Greens are trying very hard to break it."

She adds that the only "sensible candidate" standing in Gorton and Denton was Charlotte Cadden - the Conservative Party candidate.

• A reminder of the final vote count: The Greens won the Gorton and Denton by-election with 14,980 votes; Reform UK came second with 10,578; Labour came third with 9,364 and the Tories finished fourth with 706.

Until today, Labour had not lost an election in the Gorton and Denton area since 1931.

A historic win for the Green Party ended that winning streak, and Labour's fall in the vote share was significant.

At the 2024 general election, Labour received a 50.8% share of the vote, with 18,555 votes for candidate and former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne. The Green Party came in third, behind Reform, with 10.6% of the vote share.

This time around, things have changed.

The Greens won the seat with 14,980 votes and saw a 28% jump in the vote share, while Labour came third behind Reform and experienced a dip of 25%.

Joshua Tindall
Political reporter

Greater Manchester Police has told the BBC that they have received "no reports" of electoral offences at the Gorton and Denton by-election.

That statement comes after Democracy Volunteers, an election observer organisation, said their observers saw "concerningly high" levels of so-called family voting at polling stations in the constituency.

It's a claim Manchester City Council has disputed.

• Get up to speed with what family voting is

Image source, Pool

Still speaking to reporters, Starmer is asked if he believes he was wrong to block the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham from being Labour's candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election.

The prime minister says Labour had an excellent candidate in the by-election who was "rooted in her community", thanking Angeliki Stogia and everyone who campaigned in the constituency.

He adds that Labour have been fighting the extremes of the left and right.

• For context: Burnham - who is not an MP - sought permission to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election, but was blocked from doing so by Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) in January. The NEC, which includes Starmer, said this would "avoid an unnecessary mayoral election".

Image source, Pool

Away from Manchester, we're now hearing from Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the first time since the Gorton and Denton by-election.

He says this was a "very disappointing result" for Labour, who lost the seat to the Greens and finished in third behind Reform UK.

"Incumbent governments quite often get results like that mid-term," the PM tells reporters.

Despite this, Starmer says he understands that voters are "frustrated" and "impatient for change". He adds: "I will keep on fighting for those people for as long as I've got breath in my body."

Another question for Zack Polanski now, who's asked if he's expecting any defections from Labour, or any other parties, to the Greens.

In response, the party's leader says defections are not his priority right now.

"My priority right now, actually, is scoping out when might a likely by-election be about to happen, and how do we make sure we can be on the ground as quickly as possible, to make sure we can repeat this as many times as we need to".

Local elections in England in May, as well as those in the Senedd - Welsh parliament - are also priorities for Polanski and the Greens, he says.

We're going to leave the Greens' news conference there.

Image source, Getty Images

Both Green leader Zack Polanski and MP Hannah Spencer are now answering questions from reporters - we'll bring you any key lines.

Sky News' Beth Rigby notes that today's win for the Greens is unprecedented, with the party having never won a Westminster by-election before. She then asks if the Greens plan to "eviscerate" Labour.

Polanski says "it's beginning already", noting the Gorton and Denton seat was one of Labour's safest - the party hadn't lost in the area since 1931, until today.

"When you look at membership numbers, we're so close to that 200,000," he adds, saying people are "crying out for change, crying out for an alternative".

Green Party leader Zack Polanksi and his party's newest MP Hannah Spencer were all smiles as they arrived at a news conference in Manchester, billed as a victory rally, following their by-election win in Gorton and Denton.

Read our last couple of posts to see what the pair said when they took to the stage - with Spencer joking she may get teary and wouldn't apologise if she did.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, PA Media

Hannah Spencer, continuing to address supporters at a victory rally, says the mission of her party is to "rebuild our country" based on values she sees practised day in and day out.

She says she was elected because people in her constituency want change and are "sick of being told there's no alternative" and they should "shut up and accept it" as household costs spiral.

The new MP says the by-election shows there is "no longer any such thing as a safe seat", and there's "no part of the country where the Green Party cannot win".

Image source, Getty Images

Hannah Spencer is next up on stage at the Green Party's victory rally.

The newly elected MP for Gorton and Denton begins by saying: "I may get a bit teary and I'm not going to apologise for that".

She takes a moment to thank the people of Gorton and Denton, saying she's "honoured" to be selected to represent them in Parliament.

Outlining her aims, Spencer says she wants to bring down the cost of living, introduce rent controls and sort out fly-tipping.

She also accuses the Labour Party of having "stooped so low", but says she's proud of the Green Party's "positive campaign" in this by-election: "Everyone deserves a voice in our democracy - we've rejected hate and embraced hope."

Zack Polanski kicks things off at the victory rally by commending his party for having "torn the roof of British politics" and calling their by-election victory "seismic".

The Green Party leader congratulates new MP Hannah Spencer and the wider team on running the "most incredible campaign", which he says was crystal clear on what the Green Party stands for.

"The starting gun has fired on local elections in 70 days time," Polanski goes on, adding that there are "new Hannah Spencers" across the UK who want to run for the Green Party.

"This is an existential crisis for the Labour Party," he says.

Image source, Reuters

The Green Party victory rally is now under way in Gorton and Denton, Greater Manchester.

You'll be able to watch live above and we'll bring you the latest updates as we're due to hear from Hannah Spencer, the new MP for the area, and Green Party Leader Zack Polanski.

Image source, Josie Gordon

Nurse Josie Gordon, who lives in the Gorton and Denton constituency, tells the BBC this was her first time voting for the Green Party, after years of voting Labour.

The biggest issue for her ahead of these elections was ensuring a "strong, accessible and well-funded health service".

Given these priorities, Gordon, 37, says she "voted for the most progressive party".

"This has been one of the strangest elections I've ever taken part in. I never thought we'd seethis seat be anything other than Labour."