Greens directly challenge UK's ailing Labour Party with vote win

By Elizabeth Piper

LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Hannah Spencer's victory speech on becoming the Greens' fifth lawmaker on Friday barely touched on the environmental issues that have defined the party, instead attacking "billionaires" profiting from Britain's working class.

It was a direct challenge to the governing Labour Party of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, criticised by some on the left of his movement for abandoning the party's traditional socialist values to fight a threat from the populist Reform UK.

The landslide victory of the Greens in a so-called by-election in northwest England's Greater Manchester has emboldened the voices calling for Starmer to abandon a strategy of tracking to the right on issues such as tackling illegal immigration to fight Brexit veteran Nigel Farage's Reform.

And while governing parties almost always lose by-elections when voters often air their anger, the thumping defeat could empower those on the left to again challenge Starmer after an attempt earlier this month to force his resignation failed.

STARMER STRATEGY NEEDS TO CHANGE, UNION SAYS

The head of UNISON, Britain's biggest trade union which is a large Labour donor, said Starmer was "reaping the electoral consequences" of his strategy in the election for a lawmaker to represent the voting area of Gorton and Denton in parliament.

"A Labour government should be standing up for workers, defending migrants and refugees, and taking the fight to Nigel Farage rather than letting him set the agenda," UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan said in a statement.

"Under Keir Starmer the party is failing on every count, leaving the Greens to fill the vacuum. Cosying up to the rich and powerful, and protecting their interests whilst attacking ordinary working people and the left has singularly failed."

Richard Burgon, a leftist Labour lawmaker who is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group in parliament, said on X the result "means ditching the approach of trying to ape Reform and kicking the left", adding the strategy had "alienated so many people who have voted Labour previously".

Labour was forced into third place in the election, which saw the Greens win with 40.7% of the vote and Reform take second place with 28.7%.

One centre-left Labour lawmaker described the Greens' victory as "ultimately the worst possible outcome".

"Now we can't say we're the best placed to beat Reform," the lawmaker said on condition of anonymity.

GREENS CHALLENGING LABOUR ON THE LEFT

The sentiment was not lost on the Green Party, whose origins were in environmental campaigning but which has widened its policy offer to directly challenge Labour on the left.

Spencer's victory speech was aimed directly at "people here ... who feel left behind and isolated", those who "instead of working for a nice life, we're working to line the pockets of billionaires".

She also criticised the "divisive figures who constantly scapegoat and blame our communities for all the problems in society", promising to fight for "my Muslim friends", a large population in the area which the Greens appeared to win over with a promise to better support Palestinians in Gaza.

Some Labour lawmakers said the Gaza message had led to abuse on the campaign trail over the party's stance on the war, with some accusing them of being complicit in what the Greens say is the genocide of Palestinians.

The government says it is up to the international courts to determine whether genocide has occurred in Gaza, instead calling the situation a "humanitarian catastrophe". Israel has strongly denied allegations of genocide.

Zack Polanski, leader of the Greens, denied that his party had played to racism during the campaign, telling BBC radio it was "calling out the bad decisions of this prime minister".

Sharon Graham, head of the powerful Unite trade union, said the result was a "wake up call".

"Labour need to now ditch the gimmicks and get back to being Labour - not new, not one that plays games, but real Labour," she said on X.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Additional reporting by William James and Sarah Young; Editing by Alison Williams)