Embarrassing defeat for UK’s Starmer as Greens seize Labour strong hold:The vote in Gorton and Denton at the last general election in 2024. But Starmer’s unpopularity, sluggish economic growth and a series of scandals and policy U-turns contributed to a deep fall in the party’s support-

The Green ​Party won 40.7% of the vote on Friday in an election triggered when a member of parliament resigned for health reasons. Nigel Farage’s Reform ‌Party came second with 28.7% of the votes and Labour finished third with 25.4%.

Starmer was unlikely to face an immediate threat to his position if he lost, Labour lawmakers said before ‌the vote.

But he could be challenged after May elections, they added, when ⁠Labour is expected to fare ⁠badly in local and regional polls, including ​for the parliaments in Wales and Scotland.

It was the first time ⁠the Green Party, which supports ‌leaving NATO and legalizing recreational drugs, had won a ​one-off election for a seat in parliament or one in the north of England.

That takes the party’s total number of seats in the House of Commons to five out of 650.