Keir Starmer on the Gorton and Denton by-election
New video
• 2/27/2026After the result of the Gorton and Denton by-election on 27th February 2026, Keir Starmer talks to the Labour MPs. Paraphrased from his published letter from that day.
| 00:00 - 00:03 | parliament.uk hasn’t yet updated |
| 00:04 - 00:05 | but TheyWorkForYou |
| 00:05 - 00:07 | already has the result. |
| 00:08 - 00:12 | They’re waiting for the winner to arrive |
| 00:12 - 00:15 | to give their victory speech. |
| 00:17 - 00:19 | The winner being |
| 00:19 - 00:21 | Angeliki, yes? |
| 00:24 - 00:26 | Keir... |
| 00:27 - 00:28 | Hannah... |
| 00:31 - 00:33 | Hannah Spencer is the new MP. |
| 00:34 - 00:36 | The Greens won. |
| 00:53 - 00:58 | The result in Gorton and Denton is deeply disappointing. |
| 01:13 - 01:15 | We’ve seen the true colours of Zack Polanski’s Greens in this campaign. |
| 01:15 - 01:17 | The Greens were able to capitalise on an endorsement from George Galloway |
| 01:18 - 01:23 | to win over enough voters to push them over the line. |
| 01:25 - 01:28 | Their willingness to welcome Galloway’s divisive, sectarian politics |
| 01:29 - 01:31 | is a sign that the Greens are not the harmless environmentalists they pretend to be |
| 01:31 - 01:34 | and their position on legalising all drugs |
| 01:34 - 01:37 | shows how unstable this electoral coalition is. |
| 01:37 - 01:40 | It cannot survive a general election campaign. |
| 01:40 - 01:42 | Keir, we're alienating our core... |
| 01:42 - 01:46 | It hurts, but this is the kind of result that we have often seen parties of government face. |
| 01:46 - 01:48 | Keir, I don't think you understand... |
| 01:48 - 01:52 | Over the coming months, people will feel the benefit |
| 01:53 - 01:54 | of the long-term decisions this government is taking. |
| 01:56 - 01:57 | Look at the good economic news we’ve had in the past week: |
| 01:57 - 02:00 | inflation and borrowing coming down, |
| 02:00 - 02:03 | retail sales and business confidence rising, |
| 02:04 - 02:08 | energy bills falling. And look at the policies that are |
| 02:08 - 02:13 | going to make a difference in people’s lives in the coming months: |
| 02:14 - 02:16 | the landmark Employment Rights Act, |
| 02:17 - 02:21 | money off energy bills, the cruel two-child limit scrapped, |
| 02:27 - 02:29 | more free breakfast clubs opening, |
| 02:30 - 02:34 | Pride in Place funding coming through, |
| 02:34 - 02:36 | NHS waiting lists continuing to fall. |
| 02:41 - 02:42 | It will show what we’ve been saying from |
| 02:43 - 02:47 | the outset of this year: the country is turning a corner. |
| 02:48 - 02:53 | We will continue to warn of the risk the Greens pose: |
| 02:54 - 02:56 | the risk of extreme policies like legalising all drugs |
| 02:56 - 02:59 | and pulling out of NATO |
| 03:00 - 03:02 | that most voters strongly reject, |
| 03:04 - 03:07 | He’ll think about what the Labour coalition is. |
| 03:14 - 03:16 | and the risk of splitting the progressive vote |
| 03:19 - 03:23 | so that Reform come through the middle. |
| 03:25 - 03:26 | The next election is too important to let that happen. |
| 03:31 - 03:33 | It’s a fight we can win, and we’re going to win it. |
| 03:40 - 03:46 | I get it: people are rightly impatient to see the change they voted for. |
| 03:46 - 03:49 | It’s my job to make sure that happens. |
| 03:53 - 03:56 | And I’m working day in, day out to see it through. |
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