The Greens’ Gorton and Denton by-election win was about inclusion — not sectarianism
What an electrifying night it turned out to be. Not merely because the Green Party secured our inaugural parliamentary by-election victory in Gorton and Denton. Not just for toppling a long-standing Labour majority exceeding 13,000.
I never imagined I’d pen these words, not just for bringing a Green MP to the North of England for the first time. No, this triumph transcends all that.
Last night marked a pivotal moment: a demonstration that a new political paradigm is emerging, one that champions hope over hostility and unity over division.
The night also rekindled a sense of optimism. You can’t quantify the emotional impact – even as Labour and Reform’s disheartened supporters attempt to dismiss our inclusive campaign as something malicious.
While our policies and the remarkable candidate, Hannah Spencer, played a role, they weren’t the sole factors. The real difference lay in our approach to communication.
Politics in the UK has far too often spoken at people – a one-way conversation in a single language, English. Worse still, a Westminster, southern-England, privately educated version of English, as evidenced by Reform’s defeated candidate, the Kent-based Matt Goodwin.
But in places like Gorton and Denton, where in some parts nearly 40 per cent of residents are Muslim, and a significant number grow up speaking Urdu, Bangla, Arabic or other languages at home, that old way of doing things simply doesn’t hold.
You can communicate policy in crisp Radio 4 English, as our opponents did, but that can only get you so far. To get people to feel hope, to really understand in their hearts why politics is important, you need to speak in their own language – figuratively and literally.
That’s why we produced campaign material in a number of different languages, including a viral video in Urdu. It wasn’t a gimmick or a narrow tactical ploy – it was a straightforward commitment to inclusion, making sure that people who may not feel fully heard in British politics see themselves reflected in the conversation and can engage with our message in a way that reflects and respects their lived experience.
In a democracy, language should never be a barrier to participation; it should be a bridge.
Some, chiefly those politicians who lost this election like Matt Goodwin, have criticised our approach as divisive or ‘sectarian’. But that interpretation misunderstands both our intention and the deeper purpose of multilingual outreach. And they certainly didn’t understand what we were saying in Urdu or in Bangla.
Campaigns in other countries have shown how speaking to people in the languages they know isn’t about dividing people, it’s about inviting them in. For example, the success of Zohran Mamdani’s multilingual outreach in New York, where campaign videos in Arabic, Spanish and Urdu helped expand political conversations in communities often overlooked by mainstream politics.
That was one of the keys to his victory – which was praised by many in the Labour Party who now question a similar approach.
When we talk about rent, bills, the NHS, racism, or peace, those issues matter to everyone. Whether they speak English at home or Punjabi, Urdu, Somali or any other language. Multilingual campaigning recognises that reality. It says loud and clear:
You belong here. Your voice counts. Your concerns matter.
We told people in Gorton and Denton that our campaign was here to represent them and their community. That is precisely the kind of politics Greens want to build, one that enfranchises, rather than alienates, diverse communities.
This was one part of a campaign that I am so proud of. One that has seen a 26.5% swing towards the Greens. Our victory in Gorton and Denton isn’t just increasing our representation in parliament. It’s a testament to what can happen when people feel genuinely included, when they see their experiences acknowledged, their language respected, and their participation in democracy valued, not dismissed.
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