MANCHESTER, United Kingdom, Feb 27, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Britain's ruling Labour party on Friday lost a crunch local poll in one of its traditional heartlands to the left-wing Greens, official results showed, adding to the woes of unpopular Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Green candidate Hannah Spencer won the by-election in the Manchester suburb of Gorton and Denton with almost 15,000 votes as Labour slumped to third place behind the hard-right Reform UK party, which finished second.