"Labour strategists were desperate to say the party was on course to win, but the party's trouncing at the hands of the Greens has made this look laughable in hindsight. Hollie Ridley, Labour's general secretary, sent a note to No 10 at the end of January saying it was clearly a two-horse race with Reform UK, and only 3% of voters saying they would stick with the Greens."
"This misplaced optimism was mostly designed to make the voters of Gorton and Denton think that voting Labour was the best chance of defeating Reform UK's divisive candidate, Matt Goodwin. It was a strategy built after Labour felt burnt by Plaid Cymru winning a Welsh parliament byelection in Caerphilly and it began to position itself as the pre-eminent stop-Reform party."
"Time and again voters cited disillusionment with the government's performance and Labour's decision to block the Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, from standing even above the overarching chaos of the Peter Mandelson scandal. Meanwhile, the Greens were playing a blinder. As Labour sought to portray them as extremists and soft on drugs, Zack Polanski's party picked Hannah Spencer, a local plumber, as its candidate."
Labour strategists publicly predicted victory in the Gorton and Denton byelection, with party leadership claiming it was a two-horse race against Reform UK and that only 3% of voters supported the Greens. Cabinet ministers were deployed to promote positive polling data and highlight Labour's extensive get-out-the-vote operation. This optimism aimed to convince voters that Labour was the best option to defeat Reform UK's candidate Matt Goodwin. However, the Green Party won the seat with candidate Hannah Spencer, a local plumber. Ground reporting revealed voters were disillusioned with government performance and Labour's decision to block Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham from standing. Meanwhile, the Greens effectively countered Labour's portrayal of them as extremists by presenting Spencer's campaign as offering hope and positive change.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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