Gorton and Denton voters are ‘fed up’ with the by-election and so much more

A biting wind howled through Haughton Green as anxious faces watched for an expected bus this morning.

Lucy, a 50-year-old with shopping bags, braced herself as another gust came through the 9,000-person village at the centre of British politics.

“I’m fed up with it,” she said, rolling her eyes. “It’s gone on too long. It’s made everything feel a bit worse.” 

She wasn’t moaning about the wait for her bus. She was expressing her frustration at the weeks of campaigning for the Gorton and Denton by-election on February 26. 

Like most of 2026, Thursday (February 19) was a grey, miserable day. There is an extra splash of colour in this corner of Tameside, but it’s not from the early arrival of snowdrops and daffodils. It’s from the election signs a few have put up to support their candidate.

Three parties have a shot at the seat: The Greens with Hannah Spencer, the incumbent Labour Party with Angeliki Stogia, and Reform UK with Matt Goodwin. 

All three had signs up in Haughton Green, although Reform was the most popular. Those parties also had signs up in Burnage and Levenshulme. 

Although there was no clear favourite in the former, the Greens had the most in the latter. While some are keen for change in Levenshulme, some are just as fed up as Lucy on the other side of the constituency.

“There’s a massive feeling of anger,” said Simon Haves, 52. “We’ve had austerity, Brexit, Covid, and this government doesn’t seem to have a vision.”

Simon Haves and Laura Hamilton in Levenshulme.

With one week to go until polling day, it feels like the real winner in this election will be apathy.

“It’s nothing but take, take, take and people have got nothing left to give”

That’s not just driven by exasperation over ‘too many leaflets and people mithering you’ in a campaign that’s not even run for a month. There’s a real feeling politics is not working for this constituency.

“I’m not fed up with the by-election, but I am fed up with the Conservatives and Labour,” undecided 86-year-old voter Edward Axon explained, waiting for a bus on Hyde Road in Denton.

“I just think they are more interested in themselves rather than people who cannot find jobs or pay their rates. This last 20 years has been nothing but take, take, take and people have got nothing left to give.”

Some say their apathy comes from something much wider than years of Conservative or Labour governments — a feeling their town isn’t as connected as it used to, doesn’t have nice things it used to, and hasn’t got the respect it deserves.

“I was born and brought up in Denton, and how it has declined is unreal,” said Julie, 58, strolling through Jubilee Square. She said there was evidence of the rot right in front of her: “At Christmas, there used to be a big firework display with stalls out, now we put these lights up on the trees just have lights on, no baubles.”

“The community spirit has gone,” she sighed, turning to her shopping partner and cousin Carole, who lives in Abbey Hey.

“Gorton has gone to pot,” she interjected to give her view on why a new MP won’t change much. 

“You do not know your neighbours, it’s just private landlords,” she continued. “The area is so dirty. I do not know if voting for anyone else will make a difference because it’s the people living there causing the problem of litter, it’s not the councillors.

“I do not know what the answer is. People come and go, but they are not bothered about the area. Abbey Hey used to be posh, but no one wants to live there now.”

Some of the apathy stems from why Gorton and Denton needs a by-election: Andrew Gwynne’s resigned after 21 years as the area’s MP in January, 11 months after a local Labour WhatsApp group was leaked.

In the ‘Trigger Me Timbers’ group, members joked about constituents’ deaths and allegedly made antisemitic remarks. Labour kicked out some participants, while others have been reinstated or resigned.

That’s caused hurt, Father Luke Bradbury, an assistant priest in Burnage, said: “I think many of us felt let down by Andrew Gwynne, when you serve a community as long and as closely as he did, people place a great deal of trust in you, so when that trust is shaken, it isn’t just political, it feels personal.”

“There needs to be a change”

But some people will use their voices at the ballot box. In Levenshulme, that’s driven by a desire to stop Reform, with the Greens seeming strong.

“I’m worried about if Reform win and what it would mean, especially with all the England flags that have gone up. I’ve seen communities feeling the tension more than it was before,” said first-time voter Sorayah Tyson, 19.

Her mum, Charlene Souch, 43, added: “I’ve always voted Labour but there definitely needs to be a change, Greens could do well here.”

Over in Burnage, Zeeshan Malik, 46, will likely back Labour. He explained: “I’m an immigrant here, I came to this country from Pakistan in 2019, I work as a security guard in Manchester. I think Labour is a good choice, or the Liberal Democrats.

“In terms of the issues we’re facing, this area suffers from crime, it can feel quite scary. Crime control should be the first priority.”

Reform also had some support in Burnage from Paul Hickie, 40. He said: “There’s nothing for kids to do so that’s why they go around causing trouble. I know there’s a lot of people who don’t like Labour, I want to vote Reform, I think we need that change and just different voices.”

“It’s like the lottery”

Back in Haughton Green, the lanky but lovely greyhound Milo gracefully strolled with Liberty Biggins, a professional dog walker. She can’t vote next week because she lives just outside the constituency in Romiley, but working in Denton a lot means she has an interest in the result.

If she could, she’d back Hannah Spencer, laughing as she recognised the irony of supporting the Green candidate known for owning four greyhounds. But she’s worried a divisive campaign has caused a rift in Gorton and Denton that’s just too big to mend.

“I do not think people are open-minded enough,” she said. “I think there’s too many influencers online. A few years ago it could’ve healed. Now I just think it will get worse.”

Perhaps that healing could start if more people took ex-bricklayer Alan Rice’s attitude, battling the wind while waiting for a bus.

“If my candidate doesn’t win, I won’t be upset, it’s like the lottery,” he said, confirming he’s already cast a postal vote. “If you do not win it it’s one of those things.”