The Greens’ Gorton and Denton by-election win was about inclusion — not sectarianism
The Greens’ Gorton and Denton by-election win was about inclusion — not sectarianism
A breakthrough for diverse voices
What a night it was. Not just because the Green Party secured its first parliamentary by-election victory in Gorton and Denton. Not just because it overturned a once rock-solid Labour majority of over 13,000.
I never thought I’d write this — not just because we returned a Green MP for the first time in the North of England. No, this is bigger than any of that.
Last night, we sent a signal that a different kind of politics is possible in this country: one that puts hope over hate and inclusion over exclusion.
Last night, we let people feel hope again. You can’t put a price on that — even as the sore losers in Labour and Reform try and invalidate our inclusive campaign as something sinister.
Part of what made this victory possible was not just the strength of our policies or even our amazing candidate, Hannah Spencer.
“You belong here. Your voice counts. Your concerns matter.”
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But what made a huge difference was the way we communicated about Hannah and the policies we support. 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.
Yet 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.
Learning from global examples
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.
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