Media Coverage of the Gorton and Denton By-Election has focused on Labour’s fall to third place, the significance of the Green victory, and the associated racism and Islamophobia from Reform.
But what of the Tories performance. The view of veteran psephologist John Curtice is here:
Meanwhile, the Conservatives lost their deposit with just 1.9% of the vote, their worst ever by-election result.
Apart from the exceptional circumstances of the Rochdale by-election in 2024, when Labour disowned their candidate, leaving George Galloway to defeat a second-placed independent candidate, it is the first time that neither Labour nor the Conservatives have been one of the top two parties in a by-election contest.
Usually in a By-Election where the incumbent had been from the Governing Party, the key challenger would be from the Parliamentary Opposition- in this case the Tories. In fact they lost their deposit, their vote reducing from 8% in 2024 to under 2% in 2026. There cant be certainty but it looks like Reform hoovered up the 6% gap.
It suggests a growing political reconfiguration on the right as well as the left although you may struggle to find analysis or comment in the media.
Kmflett's Blog 
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