Reform council by-election win is a warning for Gorton and Denton

Throughout social media, people are warning that a Reform victory in a council by-election is a lesson for the parliamentary by-election in Gorton and Denton.

The results? Reform win.

Reform won in Fletton and Woodston with 29.4% of the vote. The Greens narrowly came second on 27.6%. Meanwhile, Labour were fourth on 16.8%.

Many social media users are pointing out that Labour has split the vote here. If just a few of the voters for the governing party had opted for the Greens, then the Zack Polanski-led party would’ve won the seat and not Reform.

One user said voting Green Party is a double win:

vote labour, get reform. vote green not just to keep out reform, but for policies you can actually believe in! that actually want to help normal people! what a revelation!

Commentator Owen Jones, meanwhile, called the council result a “warning”:

A warning here. The Greens nearly won – but Labour split the vote, handing Reform the seat.

Former MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle, who defected to the Greens, added:

Labour splitting the vote and letting Reform in. Up and down the county the only way to stop reform is to vote Green.

Polanski: ‘Labour is not a left-wing vote’

The Electoral Calculus has the Greens winning the seat, not Reform. But in the world of the corporate media, opting for the Greens splits the ‘left’ vote, not Labour. ITV’s Robert Peston recently challenged Green leader Zack Polanski on that:

Wouldn’t you regret Reform UK coming through in Gorton and Denton if The Greens split the left vote?

Polanski responded:

We cannot say that Keir Starmer’s Labour would be a left wing vote. This is the party that wanted to slash disability benefits, then had to be shamed not to do it. It’s the same party that eventually lifted the two child benefit cap, but it took over 18 months of children living in poverty. And it’s the same party that is arming an ongoing genocide in Gaza. So I don’t think on any metric you can say Keir Starmer’s Labour party represents the left in the country. That’s why I’m confident and not complacent that we can win in Gorton and Denton.

It’s arguable that Keir Starmer’s Labour is closer to Reform than the Greens. And as Polanski has previously said, it would take a change of leadership and direction for the Greens to work with Labour against Reform.

Featured image via the Canary