Have the Greens just replaced Reform as Labour's main threat?

Have the Greens just replaced Reform as Labour's main threat?

Author: Global February 27, 2026 Duration: 43:28

For all Labour's insistence that the Gorton and Denton by-election was a straight fight between them and Reform - the Greens demonstrated in Greater Manchester that they are now a fighting force on the radical Left of British politics, who present a new kind of challenge to Keir Starmer.

Hannah Spencer won convincingly, with Labour floundering in third place. Starmer visited the constituency earlier this week - a rare move for a Prime Minister not totally convinced of an imminent victory - so how much of this defeat lays squarely with him? And what does it mean for his party's direction of travel looking forward?

Matt Goodwin blamed "sectarianism" for Reform's shortcomings - and Kemi Badenoch accused Labour of creating a "monster of harvesting Muslim community bloc votes...that came back to bite them". That comes amid reports of 'family voting' - what has happened and is there really anything remarkable about religious groups being targeted in our political campaigning? Or is it a tale as old as our democracy?

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK Beyond Business Ownership - https://grp.hsbc/BeyondBusinessOwnership


Every weekday afternoon, Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel, and Lewis Goodall gather to make sense of the noise. Their The News Agents isn't a simple bulletin; it's a conversation between three of the UK's most experienced journalists who have seen the machinery of government and media from the inside. This daily podcast from Global focuses on the forces shaping our world, dissecting the headlines from Westminster and beyond with a sharp eye for what really matters. You'll hear them pull apart political strategies, question the official narrative, and trace the connections between today's breaking story and its deeper roots. What sets this show apart is their collective tone-a blend of genuine expertise, natural scepticism, and the occasional necessary laugh at the absurdities of the news cycle. They provide context where others just provide clips, aiming to answer the persistent "why" behind the "what." Tuning into this podcast feels like getting a direct, unfiltered briefing from colleagues who know the landscape intimately, making the complex flow of daily events not just comprehensible but genuinely engaging. It’s analysis designed for anyone who wants to move past the soundbites.
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