In the early hours of Friday morning, it was announced that Hannah Spencer, the Green Party candidate for the Gorton and Denton by-election, was elected to represent the constituency, with 14,980 votes.

The result represents a decisive shift away from the two-party system that has long defined British politics. Indeed, the race itself was a three-horse race between the Green Party, Reform UK and Labour. Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin came second place with 10,578 votes, and Labour’s Angeliki Stogia securing just 9,364 finished third.

The result is a shock to Labour, who once considered Gorton and Denton to be a safe, ‘Red Wall’ seat.

Following the result, many senior figures in Reform such as Goodwin himself and Nigel Farage raised the issue of family voting in predominantly Muslim areas. The claims are supported by international election observers, who allege they say “concerningly high levels” of family voting in the by-election.

Other major parties such as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats received less than 1,000 votes each.

The split in the left of centre vote and the victory of the Greens more generally reflects a growing change across the British political landscape. With local elections around the corner in May, many will view a Green victory as confirmation that lending them their support will not necessarily split the vote, as Labour often claim. Instead, it proves …