Reform UK’s chairman, David Bull, stated on Newsnight last night, 26 February, that Labour would have won the Gorton and Denton by-election, if only they fielded Andy Burnham in the first place.

Now, that looks a little odd, doesn’t it? The second-place party is giving tips to the third-place party on how to beat them. The Canary has written a great deal about Labour being Reform-lite, but surely giving each other a leg-up is a bit much?

Only, if you were to consider it from Reform’s perspective, it makes complete sense. See, in order for the left vote to split, Labour would actually have to field someone, you know… on the left (yeah yeah, disclaimers to come).

Reform knows that; Reform needs that. It can’t survive the immigrant-bashing right vote being shared between itself, Labour, the Conservatives, and whatever the fuck Rupert Lowe is doing at the time. Or, to put it another way:

Starmer can’t even gift a seat to the far-right on a silver platter without fucking it up.

‘You would have won’

After a by-election that even frothing lefty indie outlets thought was going to be a close-run thing, the Greens ended up taking it by a wide margin.

On Newsnight the night of the by-election, Reform UK’s David Bull said:

Having spoken to lots of Labour voters, if you had fielded Andy Burnham, you would have won. Full stop. But Kier Starmer didn’t want him on the pitch. This is all about the preservation of Kier Starmer. It was a very bad mistake by the Labour Party.

Burnham, the popular Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, announced his intention to run in Gorton and Denton back in January. However, he was swiftly blocked by his party’s ruling body.

Burnham is frequently perceived as a viable left-wing alternative to Starmer for the head of the Labour Party. However, his road to the top would be much easier with a seat in the Commons, rather than the mayorship.

As such, Starmer couldn’t allow him the opportunity of a win. Even, that is, if it meant potentially handing the seat to Reform. Better the far-right than the near-left, ay?

Caveat time

I promised you caveats, and there are of course caveats. Burnham’s credentials as ‘actually left wing’ are severely questionable. Your Party’s Zarah Sultana recently pointed out that:

Andy Burnham played a key role in privatising our NHS while serving as Health Secretary.

Andy Burnham voted for the 2003 Iraq War — an illegal invasion that led to the deaths of over a million Iraqis.

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Andy Burnham was a member of Labour Friends of Israel, an apartheid state that has committed genocide against the Palestinian people.

Gorton and Denton deserves a genuinely socialist MP — one who doesn’t vote for illegal wars, stands in solidarity with Palestine and is proudly anti-Zionist.

It’s a mark of how far Labour has fallen that Burnham now represents the leftward section of the increasingly right-wing party. But hey ho.

By contrast, Starmer’s Gorton and Denton pick was councillor Angeliki Stogia. Stogia supports NHS privatisation through ‘Private Finance Initiatives’, and has acted as a corporate lobbyist. Plus, she had Starmer’s backing — basically the right-of-center’s kiss of death.

Stogia won just 25.4% of the vote, in what was once a Labour safe-seat.

‘People are sick of them’

When Newsnight’s presenter Paddy O’Connell asked Zack Polanski if he agreed with Bull’s assessment, the Green leader replied:

No I don’t agree, actually. I think Andy Burnham is still a Labour Party politician, and I think people are sick of them.

Some polling has indeed suggested that Burnham would have won the seat, if he was permitted to run. We can never know precisely how that would have shaken out in real life, because Starmer would clearly rather cut off his own nose than allow the Labour right to lose its stranglehold on the party.

I wrote this piece somewhat tongue-in-cheek, talking about Starmer trying to gift the seat to Reform.

However, on a more serious note, the Green’s Hannah Spencer ran a fantastic campaign, taking an incredible 40.7% of the vote. She deserved the win on her own merit, Burnham or no Burnham. And now, Gorton and Denton has the left-wing MP it deserves.

Meanwhile, as their chairman demonstrated, Reform has been left rattled by Labour’s competition on the right. Personally speaking, they can fucking eat each other as far as I care.

Featured image via the Canary

On the morning of 27 February, the statue of Winston Churchill at Parliament Square, London, was smeared with red paint:

Churchill statue painted red by Dutch activist group in solidarity with Palestine Action

The statue is a so-called listed sculpture and is part of a group of statues of politicians (some of the other ones were NOT complicit in genocide) (we think)https://t.co/1kP05fpwj1

— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) February 27, 2026

Dutch group Free the Filton 24 NL claimed the action. It’s one of many international groups standing in solidarity with Palestine Action, especially with the 33 political prisoners. This is the first action this group has claimed on UK soil.

Hiding from accountability

In a public statement, Dutch activist Olax Outis, spoke on behalf of the group. He openly expressed his opinion of the British and Dutch governments, calling them:

a bunch of cowards hiding from accountability.

The antisemite Winston Churchill, responsible for implementing the Balfour Declaration that handed Palestine over to the Israeli occupier, gets his fair share of insults as well. Although Outis noted that if it existed, he would rather demolish a statue of current Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

This is Free the Filton 24 NL’s first action outside its own borders. But the group has stood in solidarity with the British resistance to genocide since its founding. The Dutch activists have joined the British people in their recent series of celebrations, but remind the still oppressed UK citizens:

We aren’t done yet. This isn’t over.

Like thousands of activists in dozens of countries across the world, Free the Filton 24 NL targeted the British Embassy in its country. It used daily noise protests, vandalism, blockades, and an envelope containing baby poo delivered to the mailbox. Largely ignored, which seems to be a very good representation by the embassy, the group demands the UK government to “Clean up your shit!”

Another target is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, because the human rights violations in the UK also affect the human rights of Dutch citizens. Fifteen Dutch citizens have been arrested a total of 40 times on suspicion of terrorism. Thirty-nine of these allegedly terrorist acts involved silently holding a sign that read:

I oppose genocide – I support Palestine Action

Churchill statue a listed sculpture

Outis is currently under arrest, and the Metropolitan police are investigating. Whether the statue of Winston Churchill can be restored is currently unclear. The statue is a so-called listed sculpture and is part of a group of statues of politicians, some of them not complicit in genocide.

Churchill is now considered by many Britons to be the most popular politician ever. But after world war two, the British people voted the wartime prime minister out of office as quickly as possible, making way for a progressive counter-narrative.

Free the Filton 24 NL calls him out for Zionist war crimes. And compares him to current war criminal Keir Starmer and human rights violator Yvette Cooper.

‘Actievoeren werkt!’ – ‘Action works!’

British activist groups and their international comrades have recently achieved several major victories. The ban on Palestine Action has been declared unlawful, the Filton 24 have all been acquited of aggravated burglary, and most of them have been released on bail.

The nearly 3,000 people arrested on terrorism charges since July have so overwhelmed the system that police seem to have given up the investigation entirely. Charges are met with mockery, suspects wear the terrorist label as a badge of honour.

The hunger strikes have been paused and the strikers appear to be largely recovering. All over the world, people are cheering for the victory of the British people over their deceitful rulers.

But in occupied Palestine, dozens of people are still being slaughtered by the Zionist occupier every day. Drones are still being manufactured in the UK, advertised at Dutch arms fairs as ‘field tested [on Palestinians]’.

The Netherlands and the UK are still investing tens of billions of euros and pounds in Israel. Outis stated:

We’re still dealing with two governments that have made it clear they would rather let their own citizens die than stop genocide. That is why we must continue to take action. We are not done yet.

Featured image via the Canary

Labour had a clear message in the Gorton & Denton by-election, and that message was ‘only we can beat Reform‘. The problem, of course, is that they didn’t beat Reform.

Despite this, they’re still suggesting only they can can do what they just publicly did not:

Despite all the evidence Labour are going to cling to the strategy that ‘only Labour can beat Reform’ because its all they have. pic.twitter.com/bE5f4PD2XG

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) February 27, 2026

Is it too much to ask that they offer voters something besides nonsensical slogans?

Just nationalise utilities and tax the rich, for god’s sake; it’s not rocket science!

The Failure Party

In case you missed the results, here they are – a staggering defeat for Labour:

‼️ BREAKING: Greens WIN Gorton and Denton by-election in a landslide victory

🟢 Grn: 41% (+27)
➡️ Ref: 29% (+15)
🔴 Lab: 25% (-25)
🔵 Con: 2% (-6)
🟠 Lib: 2% (-2)

Green GAIN from Labour (+/- vs GE2024)

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‼️First-ever Green win in an MP by-election pic.twitter.com/4dizRt7dOR

— Stats for Lefties 🍉🏳️‍⚧️ (@LeftieStats) February 27, 2026

As you can see, Labour didn’t even beat Reform to second place.

As Stats for Lefties added:

The Labour vote was literally cut in half

— Stats for Lefties 🍉🏳️‍⚧️ (@LeftieStats) February 27, 2026

In the video at the top, Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell said:

I think what is really clear is that there is a big majority in this constituency that hasn’t voted for Reform, and on the day the Greens have managed to win that argument that they were best placed to do that.

But I’m not sure whether that would totally translate in a general election.

So Labour are transitioning from ‘only we can win in Gorton & Denton‘ to ‘only we can win in the general election‘. The more elections they lose, however, the harder it is to sell that message.

“only Labour can beat Reform” was a terrible slogan to push so aggressively in this election

Labour could have made a much more positive case for their candidate (who always had a decent chance of winning!) but instead chose to just… lie to people

Voters saw right through it

— Josh Housden (@JoshHousden) February 27, 2026

Oh, and it doesn’t help that Labour used so many dirty tricks in this by-election (including faking a tactical voting campaign):

Beyond losing the seat, Labour have managed to destroy any trust they might have enjoyed with tactical voters at the next election thanks to their endless lying about being “the only party that can beat Reform” pic.twitter.com/c8WLUFGFpL

— Nicholas Guyatt (@NicholasGuyatt) February 27, 2026

Novara’s Aaron Bastani, meanwhile, suggested the following:

Labour knew they were lying when they said only they could beat Reform. Their own data would have indicated it after a certain point.

Which means only one thing: the objective was to deprive the Greens of votes so Reform COULD WIN. A Green win was the bigger worry.

— Aaron Bastani (@AaronBastani) February 27, 2026

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Historic loss

The Gorton and Denton constituency has only existed since 2024, but the areas covered by it have voted Labour for decades. In other words, Keir Starmer ended a streak which lasted for around half a century.

And it didn’t have to happen.

As we reported, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham wanted to run, and he’s incredibly popular. Starmer and his cronies blocked him, and now Labour have suffered a loss so great there will surely be a leadership challenge.

People pointed out that Starmer made a public show of banishing Labour progressives who wanted things like nationalisation and peace. Starmer referred to these people as “fleas”. Now, the fleas have come back to bite him in the Gorton & Dentons:

“If you don’t like that, if you don’t like the changes that we’ve made, I say the door is open, and you can leave”. – Keir Starmer, February 15 2023 pic.twitter.com/YDZvNiSPZm

— Luke Savage (@LukewSavage) February 27, 2026

Despite his record-breaking unpopularity, Starmer actually travelled to Gorton & Denton to support his candidate. Describing this as a “kiss of death”, we wrote:

If it was a “smart move”, it will be Starmer’s first since he took office.

If it was a bad move, it will be far from his worst move over the past week.

As it turned out, it was a bad move.

Jokes

At this point, the idea that ‘only Labour can win‘ has literally become a joke:

Remember, only Labour can beat reform.

lol https://t.co/3ug8Fbn5n7

— Kieran💚 (@KieranGreen2003) February 27, 2026

The question is this: will Labour get some new material, or will they repeat the line until it’s not even funny anymore?

Featured image via Stats for Lefties

It’s no secret that we here at the Canary believed the Green Party could win in Gorton & Denton:

Labour are upset because the Greens are addressing issues actual issues that matter to voters in Gorton & Denton

Via @willem_moore_uk https://t.co/z36llAujh1

— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) February 25, 2026

While we thought they’d do well, however, we didn’t anticipate quite how well:

🚨 BREAKING: The Green Party has won the Gorton and Denton by-election from Labour

🟢 GRN: 14,980 (+10,170)
➡️ REF: 10,578 (+5,436)
🔴 LAB: 9,364 (-9,191)
🔵 CON: 706 (-2,182)
🔶 LD: 653 (-746)

Changes w/ 2024

— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) February 27, 2026

It’s like Labour and Reform weren’t even trying.

Victorious

The above results show the number of voters in comparison to the 2024 general; the following shows the percentile change. As you can see, this is an absolutely disastrous result for Labour in what should be a stronghold:

🚨 IN FULL: The results of the Gorton and Denton by-election

🟢 Green: 14,980 (+10,170 / +211.4%)
➡️ Reform UK: 10,578 (+5,436 / +105.7%)
🔴 Labour: 9,364 (-9,191 / -49.5%)
🔵 Conservatives: 706 (-2,182 / -75.6%)
🔶 Liberal Democrats: 653 (-746 / -53.3%)
🐷 Monster Raving Loony…

— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) February 27, 2026

40%! It wasn’t even close, completely out performed the polls. This is despite the vile smear campaigns from Reform and Labour. https://t.co/K0t8sF2FDS

— Curtis Daly (@CurtisDaly_) February 27, 2026

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While ‘Gorton and Denton’ has only existed since 2024, it’s comprised of parts of constituencies which have voted Labour for decades, including Manchester Gorton, Manchester Withington, and Denton and Reddish.

Keir Starmer has ended a streak which lasted for around half a century.

Labour kept saying they were the only party which could beat Reform, but they didn’t even beat them to second place.

Labour spent the election claiming the Greens weren’t in the race.

They claimed it was Labour versus Reform.

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They said that’s what their data said.

They lied. They lied through their teeth.

Never, ever, ever, ever trust what Labour say again. https://t.co/LyvkV5XWcb

— Owen Jones (@owenjonesjourno) February 27, 2026

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Labour have a new problem now too.

The seal has popped.

They can cry ‘only we can win‘ as much as they like, but people know that isn’t true now, and for many that was the last reason they had to vote Labour.

Excuses

The establishment said the Green Party couldn’t win, and look what happened.

We told you what’s possible, meanwhile, and we’ll continue to do so.

Congratulations to Hannah Spencer MP and to all those who believed that something better can come.

Oh, and be ready to hold your nerve moving forwards:

Expect the press attacks on the Greens to increase by 1,000%.

— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) February 27, 2026

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Featured image via Barold 

7 min read12 min

The 300 Yutong buses were sending data back to its manufacturers in China. The company insisted this flow was necessary to “optimise” their performance.

But Norway’s transport authorities moved to prevent access to data being sent to China. They also said they had mitigated any possibility of a ‘kill switch’ that could be activated by the manufacturer crippling the fleet from afar.

The incident brought into sharp relief the challenges the Chinese-dominated market in electric vehicles are posing western policymakers – made all the more acute with the advent of self-driving cars.

China dominates the global EV market, with its home-grown company BYD overtaking Tesla as the world’s largest electric carmaker last year. Amid reports that Chinese self-driving taxis could be trialled in the UK as soon as this year, MPs and peers from across the political spectrum are urging caution.

The BBC reported in December that Uber and Lyft had unveiled partnerships with Chinese tech giant Baidu to pilot these taxis in London, which Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander called a “vote of confidence in our plans for self-driving vehicles”.

But Alex Sobel, Labour MP for Leeds Central and Headingley, tells The House he is worried these partnerships – and others with Chinese firms – could open the door to major data vulnerabilities. Under Chinese law, companies operating within its national borders are required to hand over any data requested by the authorities in Beijing.

“I am concerned that people’s personal information potentially can be shared with the Chinese state and used for a variety of purposes, if you are particularly concerned for certain communities – for instance, from Hong Kong, from Tibet, Uyghurs, or Chinese who have a dissenting view from the Chinese government,” Sobel says.

Chinese activists defying their government don’t only face persecution at home. Beijing conducts an extensive campaign of transnational repression against dissidents and critics – such as posting bounties against high-profile Hong Kong democracy campaigners who fled to safety in the West.

“Transnational repression is becoming increasingly sophisticated,” Sobel says. “And I’m not just saying that about China or other countries as well, but other countries don’t have as much reach and penetration to the UK as China.”

Sobel adds that while he believes there should be a kill switch in any AI-powered devices as a failsafe mechanism, such switches should be in control of the country’s government in which the technology is operating.

“If the Chinese state decided, for whatever reason, they want to act in a hostile way towards the UK and kill all of these off at a point in time when there’s a deep penetration in the UK, obviously that would have a massive effect.”

North Durham Labour MP Luke Akehurst is another with concerns. He posed a written question to the Transport Secretary in January, asking her to assess the risk “that electric buses operating in the UK could be remotely rendered inoperable via their internet-connected systems by hostile state actors”.

Dr Alessandro Arduino, an affiliate lecturer at King’s College London, tells The House that robo-taxis and other self-driving vehicles offer a “revealing case study” in how new technology can sit on a fine line between fresh innovation and national security dangers.

He notes that these cars generate reams of data as they drive – from location information to citizen movement and urban layout. “Such data is invaluable not only for training artificial intelligence systems but also for forecasting and strategic analysis,” he says. “China’s own policy framework is explicit in treating data and AI as matters of state sovereignty and national security, and I do believe that context matters.”

Such a dramatic threat as a kill switch would not be the first order concern, he adds, saying that the most urgent consideration is whether operating companies can keep their data secure from malicious actors.

A Transport for London (TfL) spokesperson says: “Safety is our top priority, and we are interested in learning more about technologies that could potentially help deliver safety benefits for all road users.

“TfL recognises the challenge of legislating in response to changes in automated vehicle technology in a timely manner to ensure benefits are delivered and risks are mitigated.”

It is not the first time the use of Chinese tech in Britain’s infrastructure has faced fierce opposition over national security fears. In 2020, the government halted the use of Huawei equipment in Britain’s 5G network and ordered that existing tech be removed by the end of 2027.

But it comes at a time when Downing Street is seeking a reset in relations with China after a frosty few years. In January, the controversial Chinese new ‘mega-embassy’ in London was granted planning permission – despite repeated concerns over its proximity to crucial fibre-optic cables and potential for heightened espionage.

Keir Starmer has also now become the first British prime minister to visit Beijing in eight years, travelling along with a cohort of business leaders in a drive to reap the vaunted benefits of dealing with the world’s second-largest economy.

The Prime Minister’s visit saw the announcement of plans to allow British citizens visa-free travel to China and the lifting of sanctions on MPs who had blasted Beijing’s repression of Uyghur Muslims.

Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith MP, a persistent China ‘hawk’, says he would like to see a pilot of self-driving taxis in the UK blocked if it uses Chinese technology. “They all basically data-harvest those who use them. It goes all the way down the line.”

Chinese companies such as Baidu have also long been criticised for their role in online censorship in the country, where the government maintains fiercely tight control over the information space.

Sam Goodman of China Strategic Risks Institute tells The House: “Given the integral role Baidu plays in internet censorship in China, and its legal requirement to share users’ data with China’s Ministry of State Security, it is hard to see how it can be trusted with the data security and personal safety of the British public.”

As AI technology, including that used in self-driving vehicles, continues to advance at breakneck pace, governments across the world have been left scrambling to find a policy answer on how best to regulate the sector and mitigate its risks without suffocating innovation.

Professor James Davenport of the University of Bath tells The House that lawmakers face grappling with both the novelty and broad range of AI technologies as they figure out effective regulation. “For example,” he explains, “the EU AI Act will impose the same requirements on self-driving taxis as on chatbots offering psychiatric advice. The alternative would be an enormous mass of detailed legislation and incredible turf wars.”

Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse, who was refused entry to Hong Kong last year, says the proposed pilot “fits a worrying pattern of the government growing far too cosy with Beijing”. Hobhouse is among the voices who believe the pilot should not go ahead until the government can categorically prove there would be no risk posed to national security or public safety.

She tells The House: “From approving a Chinese super-embassy in London to pushing ahead with closer economic ties despite repeated security warnings, the government are sending the wrong signal: that trade is being prioritised over security, human rights and the safety of those who have fled repression to build new lives in the UK.”

A government spokesperson tells The House: “Safety is central to our plans for automated-vehicle pilots. All proposed deployments will be subjected to rigorous safety and cyber-security assessments.”

Baidu did not respond to a request for comment. It has previously denied allegations of links to the Chinese state and military. An Uber spokesperson said: “No matter which country an AV partner is from, we only work with them if they can both meet Uber’s own high standards and fully comply with all applicable laws on safety, security, and privacy.” Lyft did not reply to requests for comment.