Starmer on brink of by-election disaster: Poll shows hard-left Greens could pull off shock win in Gorton as campaign enters frantic final day… but Reform is still in fight
Labour is scrambling to hang on in the Gorton & Denton by-election with signs the hard-Left Greens could pull off a shock win.Keir Starmer's activists are bracing for a final blitz before votes are cast tomorrow in a traditional stronghold. But despite the PM's desperate efforts to paint the contest as a straight fight with Reform, a poll has suggested the Greens have a narrow advantage.The Opinium research put the party on 30 per cent support among people who were very likely to vote - with Labour and Reform just behind on 28 per cent.All the figures were within the margin of error, and constituency-level polling always comes with a health warning as it is very difficult to conduct accurately.However, Labour figures will be dismayed that efforts to unite Left-wing voters against Nigel Farage's insurgents look to be stumbling. Sir Keir's fate could hang on the outcome, after he barely survived a coup a fortnight ago. The premier blocked Manchester mayor Andy Burnham from being Labour's candidate, amid concerns he could be a leadership challenger in the House of Commons.
Keir Starmer visited Gorton & Denton on Monday but was carefully surrounded by Labour activists, candidate Angeliki Stogia (right) and his deputy Lucy Powell inside a sports centre Zack Polanski has tried to laugh off the Daily Mail highlighting the Greens' extreme policiesLabour MPs and ministers are expected to flood the Manchester seat over the next 48 hours, in a bid to salvage the campaign.Sir Keir himself visited on Monday, but was humiliatingly kept well away from ordinary voters amid alarm at his dire personal ratings.Zack Polanski's party is bullish about its prospects despite mounting fears over hard-Left policies.The Greens want to legalise hard drugs, decriminalise prostitution and operate an effective open door immigration policy.They have also backed Britain paying huge reparations for the slave trade.By-election literature has targeted the significant Muslim vote in the constituency, including focusing on Gaza.Other polls have also pointed to an incredibly tight three-way race in Gorton & Denton, although some have questioned their methodology. Sir Keir only carried out a token campaign stop on Monday, carefully surrounded by Labour activists, candidate Angeliki Stogia and his deputy Lucy Powell inside a sports centre. Despite aides insisting he would be meeting voters, there is no evidence that happened.He did speak to Mr Burnham but there were no images of the encounter.Reform candidate Matt Goodwin has branded the by-election a referendum on Sir Keir's leadership.Green policy documents unearthed by the Daily Mail show they want Channel migrants to be given a free house and paid a wage with no requirement to work.Arrivals would be able to use the NHS for free the moment they enter Britain, and work 'with no restrictions' under plans for 'a world without borders'.Immigration detention would be abolished, with full amnesty granted to illegal migrants to stay, even if their asylum claims are rejected.Join the debateDoes Reform still have a path to victory here? Zack Polanski (left) is bullish about the prospects of Green candidate Hannah Spencer (right)The internal documents state that 'migration is not a criminal offence under any circumstances'.Last week, the party's plans to legalise drugs including crack cocaine and heroin for recreational use were exposed.According to the immigration proposals, the Greens seek 'to establish a system that recognises that all migrants are treated as citizens in waiting and therefore supports and encourages them to put down roots in their new home'. The Conservatives, Reform UK and Labour derided the 'open border plans', branding them 'financially reckless but also dangerous'.But Mr Polanski's party said it was 'proud' of the policies, which it claimed have proved 'popular' on the doorstep during the Gorton and Denton campaign. Under the Green leader's premiership all illegal migrants would be handed a wage 'at the level of Universal Basic Income' with 'no requirement to be either working or actively seeking work'.Migrant families would be 'accommodated in a house or flat with exclusive use' and lone men would 'each have their own room' in shared accommodation – but would be given their own property if they claimed to be LGBTQIA+ for 'safeguarding purposes'.The proposals add that illegal migrants 'will be allowed to take up employment, with no restriction' and will be 'provided with free access to all NHS facilities' the second they cross the Channel – with these rights remaining 'even if their [asylum] case is rejected'.Meanwhile immigration detention 'will be abolished' and even illegal migrants who have 'exhausted all [asylum] appeal rights' would not be deported. The policy says: 'There will be no requirement for any applicant, or any person whose case has been refused, to report regularly to the Department of Migration.' Reform candidate Matt Goodwin has branded the by-election a referendum on Sir Keir's leadership, as the PM struggles to cling on in No10
