Gorton & Denton by-election thread

[fromorbit]

This dramatic byelection to be held on Thursday 26 February 2026 is looking likely to have a confrontation over sex and gender with the Conservative's just announced candidate Charlotte Cadden being a trustee for Sex Matters. Another factor is with a large Muslim population in the area the group Muslim Vote has endorsed the Green candidate despite one of their aims to be remove teaching about LGBT issues from schools when religious parents object. Obviously in conflict with Green policy.

Candidates

• Angeliki Stogia will be the Labour candidate in this year's election. Ms Stogia moved to the UK from Greece in the 1990s and has served as a councillor in Whalley Range since 2004.
• Reform UK have selected GB News presenter Matt Goodwin as their candidate. He studied at the University of Salford and went on to have a career as a commentator and academic.
• The Liberal Democrats have selected local campaigner Jackie Pearcey as their candidate. She lives in the constituency and previously won 2,600 votes at the 2017 elections.
• The Green Party have put forward Hannah Spencer to stand for them at the by-election. She is a plumber by trade she is from Bolton and has lived in Greater Manchester all her life, and is based in Hale where she is a councilor. She doesn't believe biology is important in deciding gender.
• The Conservative Party have chosen former detective chief inspector Charlotte Cadden as their candidate. She served for 30 years in GMP and London's Met.
• The Re-join EU Party have announced that Joseph O'Meachair will be their candidate. He is a member of the party's executive committee and lives in the North West.

Sebastian Moore (Social Democratic Party)
The Social Democratic Party announced on Friday 30 January that the current SDP North West Chair Sebastian Moore will be running as their candidate in the by-election.

Nicholas Brendan Buckley Advance UK

He is a British charity worker and political figure who previously represented Reform UK.

Dan Clarke is the Libertarian Party candidate

Sir Oink A-Lot
Sir Oink A-Lot is The Official Monster Raving Loony Party candidate

https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/parl.gorton-and-denton.by.2026-02-26/gorton-and-denton/

The just announced Conservative candidate has serious form:
Former detective chief inspector Charlotte Cadden is a lesbian served for 30 years as a Police Officer, both for Greater Manchester Police and the Metropolitan Police - Charlotte is a trustee of the charity Sex Matters, a member of the LGB Alliance Business Forum. She coordinates the Women’s Rights Network in Greater Manchester, In 2023, she set up the national Police SEEN.

Galloway's Worker's Party have now decided not to stand. They may have attracted a bunch of Muslim votes which will now go elsewhere.

Any hustings are going to be rather interesting.

Latest is Hannah's interview with 5 Pillocks. She makes a bit of a change from their usual non-Muslim interviewees
Marlon Solomon (@supergutman): "Sorry, I know I shouldn't be, but I'm still completely fucking gobsmacked The Green Party have gone anywhere near this lot." | XCancel

Greens have dropped their interview with 5 Pillocks. So hanging out with a site that supports literal Nazis is bad then? Who knew.

Green Party promotes then deletes interview with site censured for anti-Jewish and LGBT hate
Zack Polanski, Mothin Ali and Hannah Spencer were interviewed by 5 Pillars, which has conducted chats with some of the UK's most notorious neo-Nazis
Detailed report
https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/green-party-promotes-then-deletes-interview-with-site-censured-for-anti-jewish-and-lgbt-hate/
This is a HUGE scandal. Will it get the reporting it deserves.

Oh, dear.

Any response from little Owen

'The Impress adjudication stated: “The interviewee’s (Fransen’s) unchallenged assertions that Jews were responsible for Pornhub, for ‘the abortion industry’ and for ‘the LGBTQPZ plus agenda’, and that there was a ‘disproportionate number of Jews occupying positions of authority’, had the effect of perpetuating a narrative of prejudice against Jewish people.”

The Blood Brothers interview with Fransen was deemed inflammatory enough that it was subsequently removed from YouTube, although it is still available via the 5 Pillars website. In a previous ruling, related to Hussain’s interview with Neo-Nazi Mark Collett, Impress also ruled that 5 Pillars had had breached Clause 4.3 of its code “by encouraging hatred or abuse against groups based on gender identity, religion, and sexual orientation”. In the interview, Collett had made highly inflammatory comments, including stating that “When you talk about Jewish influence, you have to take into account things like the porn industry, feminism, cultural Marxists, the whole LGBT industry, the anti-racist industry, the holocaust industry. All of these things, all of these endeavours are controlled or disproportionately controlled by people of Jewish descent, and they are wielded in such a way that they have a negative impact on the white population.”'

Holy moly.

Oh FGS, the "no treating" rules date back to the the 17th century, are clearly set out in the Representation of the People Act, 1983, & it is exceptionally easy to avoid falling foul of them.
Sure, Tracey Brabin was accused of treating by political opponents (Conservatives) in 2021 & the police NFA'd it, but why step on the same rake again?

I don't mind a bit of food at political occasions like conferences - pro tip, if you've had too much free booze and need to soak it up, Conservative Friends of India are good for a curry - but surely the whole point of being a legacy party is that you've got people who know the relevant law inside out.

If this isn't a decisive result, I can see it heading for election court, and you have to be a real moron to relish the prospect of election court.

Owen is busy having a go at women who don't like Green activists being rude. The Greens associating with neo--Nazis is not the big issue it seems .

Close The Bloody Door

In a viral clip doing the rounds on social media, journalist Owen Jones asks a woman on the street about her voting intentions. ‘Her Answer Surprised Me’ is emblazoned across the screen.

“I do know that I’m not going to vote for the Greens,” she says. Pressed further for the reason why, she explains, “Because two weeks ago, when the entourage were in a cafe, they walked out of the cafe and didn’t close the door behind them.”

Jones dissolves into over-the-top giggles. But this lady is deadly serious.

“But surely… ok, they shouldn’t have done that, but is that a reason not to vote for the candidate?”

Sternly, she replies, “Actions speak louder than words,” and walks off.

Jones once again cracks up. I’ll be fair to him that, admittedly, her comic timing was perfect; it wouldn’t ordinarily be the response you’d expect, and her seriousness was affecting. I don’t find her answer, as Jones says he did, “surreal”, though.

She’s being perfectly logical. It isn’t strange for her to judge that a party that leaves the door open in the chilly months of windy February, freezing their fellow diners, not showing even basic courtesy, might well act the same way when it comes to representing their constituents. Also: it’s just bloody rude.

https://jennylindsaywriter.substack.com/p/close-the-bloody-door

Also. Letting all the heat out. Not very Green

I hadn't seen the Owen Jones video but I did read the Jenny Lindsay substack this morning and it's excellent.

Top 5 worst Green campaign moments so far (according to Labour)
x.com/i/status/2024611863707754760

The latest Green election ad is... striking.
WATCH: Gorton & Denton Green Candidate Produces Video Entirely in Urdu – Guido Fawkes

Its the sort of advert that could win the greens this election, but lose the left a lot in the long term because this is neither multicultural nor integration.l

I don't suppose Hannah knows that the last white British MP to speak Urdu on the campaign trail was Enoch Powell.

I didnt know that.

I dont know much about him, but knew that he spoke many languages, and wanted a position in India, so it makes sense.

Today's Worldle is claiming the most popular languages spoken in Pakistan (spoilers) are Punjabi and Pashto, so Urdu is a bit niche

Yes but it is the second most commonly spoken language in Manchester which is the more relevant stat. (It's also the fourth most common language in the UK after English, Scottish, Welsh) which sounds impressive till you realise that's still less than 1%. Lots of Indians and Hindus speak it as well. It's not just a Pakistani/Muslim language.

You can still criticise them for doing the add. I just don't think its reasonable to assume "they must be doing it to exclusively appeal to Pakistani Muslims"... "thats not even the main language in Pakistan the fools"

Well there is a bit of Hindi text at the end (that guido link won't show you the video unless you accept cookies from them, so here it is on YouTube alongside wishes for Ramadan Mubarak.

It's possible that they might be aiming it at the hindu Indian population there, but then why would they be showing pop ups of Keir Starmer with Narendra modi which is definitely Not intended to be A Positive Thing

Oh it's likely in this case the video itself is targeting the South Asian Muslim diaspora. It's just a mistake generally to think Urdú = Muslim or Muslim = Pakistani . I think even if you argued the content of the video (Modi) was trying to exploit Muslim/Hindu differences you can't argue the language is because both some Muslims and some Hindus can speak it

Modi is a bit controversial because he's a strong Hindu Nationalist (in contrast to earlier leaders like say Ghandi) and also authoritarian. Obviously therefore Pakistani Muslims might not be expected to like him. But equally, Indian Muslims are more likely to leave India than Indian Hindus more recently (partly because of hardening attitudes). And so they wouldn't be thrilled with the man driving those attitudes. Bút also Modi is divisive within the Indian Hindu diaspora as well because he is hard-line. So like some Americans living in London might think Trump is great and others don't. (Well likely Modi's still more popular with the Indian diaspora than Trump with Americans but still...)

It's more complicated than British Pakistanis are Muslims and don't like Modi and British Índians are Hindus and do like him. Even though there have been quite serious tensions between parts of both those communities it's more complicated than just 2 very sectarian sides who don't like each other.

Regardless of whether Modi is good or bad it's a little unfair to criticise the PM for meeting him when that's part of his job mind.

I'm afraid that, if there are popup images of Labour ministers with Modi and Netanyahu, I'm really not buying the idea that this is a non-sectarian pitch to all corners of the South Asian diaspora. It looks more like an attempt to associate Labour with two foreign leaders who have bogeyman status in the Muslim community.

Labour have done the same themselves of course, most notably in the Batley and Spen by-election in 2021 when they feared losing to the Tories, and put out leaflets aimed at Muslim voters prominently featuring Boris meeting Modi.

Has anyone seen the latest crap from the greens
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15585569/Now-looney-Greens-call-free-prostitution-porn-election-nears.html

Go on, translate that into Urdu

For the last few years, GC feminists have been elected to the Green Party Women committee. They seem to support the Nordic Model - they held a webinar last year with speakers from Nordic Model Now.

But the TRAs in the party all parrot the "sex work is work" line. The last time that there was a split GPW committee, the TRA co-chair organised a panel discussion in favour of decrim. Natalie Bennett (Green in the House of Lords) was one of the speakers.

The green model is not the nordic model they want to legalise it not make buying sex a crime. They want the German model which has caused more harm and prostitution

I know that the official policy isn't the Nordic Model - that's why I said that the TRAs are all "sex work is work" and are pro decrim but that the GC women on the Green Party Women committee seem to favour the Nordic Model.