Newly elected MP Hannah Spencer celebrates with Green Party leader Zack Polanski after winning the Gorton and Denton by-election early on Friday morning © Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo
After weeks of campaigning, and claims from all three leading parties their candidate was in pole position… the Green Party stormed home to victory in Gorton and Denton in the wee hours of Friday morning, with local plumber Hannah Spencer winning over 40% of the vote. Reform UK retained the second place they’d won at the General Election – doubling their vote share along the way, whilst Labour’s 13,000 majority was dramatically overturned as they slumped into third, losing half their 50% vote share and another safe seat in the process. The usual caveats apply here – it’s a by-election; but unlike in recent years, this is the first time two previously minor political parties – who sit at opposite ends of the political spectrum – have come through to cement themselves as genuine contenders to tear the political norms apart at the next election. Meanwhile, the Conservatives and Lib Dems couldn’t scrape together 4% of the vote between them. The result will do little to calm nerves in Downing Street, discourage would-be leadership contenders from stirring the pot, or stop people from wondering what might have happened had Labour’s King of the North Andy Burnham not been blocked from standing. United in defeat, both Labour and Reform spent the morning raising serious concerns about reportedly high levels of illegal family voting seen on the night by election observers. With the May local elections less than 10 weeks away, expect the Government to announce measures to address this one as soon as next week…
In Westminster’s latest drama that could have been taken straight out of a soap opera, Peter Mandelson, the Commons Speaker, the Lord Speaker, the police, and a Caribbean island were all pulled into a swirling mess of intrigue, confusion and conspiracy this week. After Peter Mandelson was arrested on Monday, the Lord Speaker was forced to issue a denial that he had been the source of a tip off to the police that the former Ambassador to the US had been preparing to leave the UK after it emerged the police had revealed the source to Mandelson’s lawyers. It later materialised that the Commons Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, was in fact the source, after he had been tipped off about the flight risk on a visit to the British Virgin Islands last week (still with us?). The Met have now had to issue an apology to both Speakers for what is being treated as a serious breach of protocol, at a time when trust in the police is as low as it’s ever been. Mandelson, who has been released on bail until May, reportedly surrendered his passport, despite his lawyers stating the suggestion he was about to leg it to the Caribbean was “entirely false and without foundation”.
300 – new sanctions announced by the UK on Russia this week to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
101,000 – number of people who claimed asylum in the UK in 2025, 4% down from the previous year.
73% – percentage of flights that operated on schedule in the UK in 2025, up 6% on the previous year but still below pre-pandemic levels.
20p – the maximum amount that a single pay as you go Tube fare in zones 1-6 will increase by from March.
15 – number of polling stations where potential family voting was seen at the Gorton and Denton by-election, out of the 22 that were observed.
14 – number of seats that Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters won on Your Party’s central executive committee out of a possible 24.
1681 – average number of patients per full-time GP in Scotland in 2025, up from 1,590 in 2019.
200,000 – predicted court backlog by 2035 if action is not taken now, according to MoJ.
25% – percentage rise in reports of domestic abuse in Scotland over the past year.
1.26 million – latest annual number of incidents of fly-tipping in England.
£117 – decrease to the energy price cap from April, announced by Ofgem.
The world marked the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Tuesday. Keir Starmer co-chaired a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing (the alliance of European nations which have pledged to deploy peacekeeping forces to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire) with French President Emmanuel Macron, while the Foreign Secretary visited Kyiv. However, the pledge to potentially deploy British troops in Ukraine has drawn concern, as it would likely require the UK to withdraw soldiers from NATO deployment in Estonia (and can only be solved with, you guessed it, more defence spending).
The Education Secretary unveiled her long-awaited SEND strategy, which aims to tackle the collapse in special educational needs provision and spiralling costs. The changes will see £4bn invested in SEND services over the next three years, and from 2029 children will be reassessed as they move through education stages. By 2035, the DfE also intends to reserve Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) for children with the most severe and complex needs.
Kemi Badenoch parked her tanks on Labour’s lawn with a pledge to cut the interest rate on Plan 2 student loans as the issue rocketed into the political mainstream. Despite the Conservatives (and Lib Dems) introducing the policy in 2012, Labour’s abandonment of the issue (and the 42% of graduates who voted for them in 2024) left the door wide open for Badenoch, who strolled through it by dedicating all of her questions at PMQs to the issue.
David Lammy pledged to proceed with plans to limit jury trials as the Courts and Tribunals Bill was introduced to Parliament. In a speech at Microsoft’s AI tour, he also set out his intention to harness tech to deliver further efficiencies across the courts system in areas such as court listings and case progression, remote participation and prisoner escort services.
The Government published an update on its implementation of the Grenfell inquiry’s recommendations, showing that it is on course to complete 70% of them by the end of the year. The Housing Secretary also launched an inquiry into the ‘regulatory gaps and long-standing issues in the construction products sector’ and announced that legislation will be introduced to create a monument for those who lost their lives in the fire.
Jeremy Corbyn will probably become the leader of Your Party, after his faction won 14 of the 24 seats on the party's central executive committee (CEC), against his frenemy Zarah Sultana’s faction, which got 7. In a reflection of the fact it is a very serious party, the returning officer failed to even put her laundry away before joining the Zoom call to announce the results.
The purgatory of the Government’s bid to hand the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius continued after Trump (for the second time) condemned the move. Following the President’s criticism last week, Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer said the Bill had been “paused”, although other Government sources insisted it will proceed. To draw attention to the issue, Nigel Farage turned up unannounced in Mauritius, only to be denied entry to the Diego Garcia military base on the grounds that it is, after all, a military base.
The UK agreed a treaty with Spain on the entry and exit of Gibraltar, potentially ending nearly a decade of Brexit-induced confusion over the status of the island. The deal will see the island subject to Schengen-lite checks by Spanish border guards and the EU's new Entry Exit System will apply to non-EU nationals entering the territory.
President Trump slapped the world with a flat 10% tariff rate after the Supreme Court blocked his previous tariff policy, although, luckily, he stepped back from a threat last weekend that it would be 15%. Legal battles over the taxes could continue throughout his presidency.
The Spring Statement will take place on Tuesday, although it could last as little as 20 minutes and could potentially just see the Chancellor delivering the OBR’s latest forecast. However, a certain by-election drubbing increases the chance she might feel the need to pull a rabbit out of a hat…
Fresh from a week away, the Commons returned with a bang as the Removal of Two Child Limit Bill passed its third reading with a majority 361 to 84. It was Lib Dem Opposition Day on Tuesday where focus was on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in light of last week’s arrest, with the motion demanding the release of files relating to his appointment as trade envoy in 2001 passing. Trade Minister Chris Bryant called Andrew “rude, arrogant and entitled” and said the Government are “working at pace” to remove him from the line of succession. Student loans were the Conservative Party’s topic of the week, with Leader Kemi Badenoch taking the opportunity to press the Prime Minister on them at PMQs. She later sent Jack Rankin as the Tory spokesperson in Westminster Hall, where he did have to clarify he was on the last year of Plan 1 student loans.
On the red benches, the Medical Prioritisation Bill passed its third reading after its report stage on both Monday and Wednesday, and now awaits Royal Assent. Discussions this week were focused on strengthening the priority for UK-trained graduates and whether implementation should be postponed until 2027. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill had its first day of report stage in the Lords, where an amendment that would have replaced the proposed smoke-free generation, with a simple, one-time increase in the legal age of sale to 21 was rejected. Peers also discussed education in prisons, student loans and V-levels.
Badenoch’s newest policy seems to be on the money as over half of Britons believe student loans should not be charged with any interest rate, according to a recent poll by Ipsos. The findings demonstrated that 54% believed there should be no interest rate at all (up from 41% in May 2023), with 15% respectively believing interest rates should be at the same level as, or lower than inflation. However, the public are split between how best to tackle the issue, as 23% think the Government should reduce the limit that can be charged to students; 23% believe that university should be free and paid for by general taxation; and 18% think the system should be replaced with a graduate tax.
Rough sleeping hit a record high, as new figures revealed 4,793 people were sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2025. Analysis of the data by the Centre for Social Justice found that monthly totals are even higher than the night counts, with 9,000 people seen sleeping rough in October and in November. The think tank’s report is urging the Government to roll out the Housing First model across England to break this cycle, as well as delivering on a new target for the voluntary return of non-UK national rough sleepers and tackling ‘root causes’ including through welfare reform and extending support for those with addiction.
What does the Government’s energy bill discount mean for households? That is the topic the Resolution Foundation’s latest study explored ahead of Ofgem’s latest energy price cap this week, which unveiled a 7% drop (equivalent to £117 over a year). The decrease reflects the Government’s decision to take £150 in policy costs off energy bills from April. The report set out how precise bill savings will vary according to patterns of energy use, but said the typical household (27%) will save less than £100. It also suggested there is a ‘strong case’ for further taxpayer funding for legacy energy policy costs, including debt relief and support for vulnerable households.
It was a proper mud-slinging contest in the Gorton and Denton by-election last night, with the Monster Raving Loony Party’s Sir Oink-a-Lot also throwing his trotter into the ring complete with the campaign slogan “Think Big, Vote Pig.” Alas, there was to be no pig deal for the porcine hopeful, who secured just 159 votes and ultimately failed to bring home the bacon. Sow it goes. Still, in a political landscape not exactly short on hogwash, there is something admirable about a man willing to don a snout and mean it. Spare a thought, meanwhile, for Lucy Powell who had the unenviable task of attempting a serious post-election interview while Sir Oink-a-Lot literally hogged the background.
It’s not about the outcome, but the Instagram posts we make along the way… is hopefully what Labour’s Gorton and Denton candidate Angeliki Stogia is thinking right about now. In the run-up to election night, Stogia posted an Instagram Reel of herself dancing in the car, captioned: “POV: You’ve just been on the doors and everyone said they are voting Labour” and “Labour everywhere”. One could argue: maybe everywhere aside from Gorton and Denton. If she wants recommendations for a new car soundtrack, may we suggest KRANTZ and Hannah Spencer [MP]’s “This is Manchester”?
