Starmer and Polanski both claim their parties best placed to beat Reform UK as polls open in Gorton and Denton
Good morning. In Gorton and Denton, on the outskirts of Manchester, people have started voting in one of the most eagerly awaited, and fiercely contested, byelections of recent years. All the polling suggests the result will be very close. The political scientists argue that, if a party wins a contest like this by just a few hundred votes (or perhaps ever fewer – Reform UK won the Runcorn and Helsby byelection last year by just six votes), it is irrational to draw broad conclusions about the state of UK politics over a result that could easily have gone the other way had it not been for a few random incidents (like activists not closing the door in a cafe). But politics isn’t rational; a win will firm up a narrative that will shape the way the main parties do politics in the months ahead. (And, whoever wins, the result will confirm that we now have multi-party politics trying to operate in an electoral system constructed for two-party politics, which is leading to questions about the fairness of the outcomes it produces.)
Here is Josh Halliday’s preview.
The polling stations opened at 7am. Unusually, the leaders of the three parties that might win have all issued personal messages to the voters. Keir Starmer, the PM and Labour leader, and Zack Polanski, the Green leader, are both claiming they are best placed to beat Reform UK.
Starmer said:
The choice at today’s by-election could not be more stark. Unity or division. Driving down the cost of living with Labour or driving a wedge between communities under Reform. Moving forwards together, or opening up anger and division that holds our country back.
Reform’s Matthew Goodwin thinks people who aren’t white can’t be English and wants women who choose not to have children to pay more tax. Vote Labour in Gorton and Denton today to send him and his toxic politics packing.
Only Labour’s Angeliki Stogia can unite communities in Manchester and Tameside and stop Reform. A vote for the Greens or any other party just risks letting Goodwin in through the back door.
And Polanksi says:
Labour know they’re in third place. Yet in the last 48 hours have gone as far as obsessively attacking the Green Party and even creating a fake tactical voting website to spread misinformation.
If you can’t vote today – then join us instead!https://t.co/0qbagSvIYp
— Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) February 26, 2026
And, in his statement, Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said:
Our message on election day is clear.
The prime minister is panicking and knows he has broken his promises to the British people.
Vote Reform to ditch Starmer.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
9.30am: The Home Office publishes its latest asylum and resettlement figures.
9.30am: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government publishes homelessness figures.
Morning: Keir Starmer is on an education-related visit in the north of England.
11am: Your Party announces the results of the elections to its leadership team, its central executive committee. As Alexandra Topping reports, there has been a bitter contest between the Jeremy Corbyn faction and the Zara Sultana faction.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
Noon: John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, takes questions from MSPs.
If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (between 10am and 3pm), or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.
If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.
I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
Key events
Gibraltar gets ‘practical and lasting solution’ after UK and EU finally agree rules for its post-Brexit status
Gibraltar will remain British, but people will be able to travel freely across the land border with Spain, according to a post-Brexit agreement on the territory, the Press Association reports. Gibraltar was not included in the post-Brexit trade deal negotiated between the UK and the EU more than five years ago. But the two sides have now finally agreed what they call a “practical and lasting solution” that will settle the status of the British territory perched at the edge of Spain.
PA says:
The UK, alongside the government of Gibraltar, has published a draft treaty with the EU that outlines the arrangements for a “fluid border” for people and goods.
The deal will mean no routine passport checks at the Spain-Gibraltar border for the 15,000 people who cross it every day.
However, checks will apply to those arriving by air, so those flying into Gibraltar from the UK will face dual border controls: one check from Gibraltarian officials and another by the Spanish on behalf of the EU.
There will also be a tailored customs model to “eliminate burdensome goods checks”, the UK Government said.
The draft agreement does not affect sovereignty, stating that nothing signed “shall constitute the basis for any assertion or denial of sovereignty” over the Rock, and protects UK autonomy of key military facilities.
Gibraltar’s airport is run by the Ministry of Defence and hosts an RAF base. The overseas territory also has an important naval facility.
Chief minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, said the treaty protects the “British way of life” on the Rock, while “unlocking new opportunities for growth”.
The treaty, published in draft form today, still needs to be signed, ratified an implemented.
Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said: “This treaty ensures that Gibraltar’s economy, people, and future are protected as an integral part of the British family.
“Working closely with the government of Gibraltar – and agreeing nothing without their consent – we have a treaty that preserves sovereignty and delivers certainty when Gibraltar’s way of life was threatened.
“The UK’s commitment to Gibraltar will never falter.”
Picardo said: “This is a safe and secure agreement we have negotiated alongside the UK and that unequivocally protects our position on sovereignty, safeguards our economy and delivers the certainty our people and businesses need.
“It allows Gibraltar to look to the future with confidence, protecting our British way of life while unlocking new opportunities for growth and prosperity.
“It is an agreement that is very good for Gibraltar-based individuals and businesses that will deliver great growth for our economy.”
Gibraltar was ceded to the UK by Spain under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 and the population is heavily in favour of remaining a British overseas territory.
The last time it voted on a proposal to share sovereignty with Spain, in 2002, almost 99% of Gibraltarians rejected the move.
Talks on rules governing the border have been ongoing since Britain left the European Union in 2020.
Tommy Robinson visiting US state department should be ‘wake-up call’ for UK government, Lib Dems say
The Liberal Democrats have said that Tommy Robinson having an unofficial meeting at the US state department with an official working there should be a wake-up moment for the UK government.
Commenting on the story, the Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller said:
The Trump administration hosting Tommy Robinson must be a wake-up call.
The government needs to include the US in their inquiry into foreign interference in UK politics.
We cannot stand by while the likes of Trump and Musk meddle in our democracy.
Met police apologise to lord speaker for wrongly saying he was source of tip about Mandelson being flight risk
The Metropolitan police has apologised to Michael Forsyth, the lord speaker, after mistakenly telling Peter Mandelson that he was the source of information suggesting Mandelson was about to flee the country. This led to Mandelson being arrested by the police, instead of being allowed to attend an interview voluntarily.
After Forsyth met the police earlier today (see 9.26am), the Met issued a statement saying:
The Met has also apologised to the speaker of the House of Lords, following the inadvertent revealing of information into allegations of misconduct in public office.
It was actually the Commons speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, who tipped off the police. Yesterday he received his own apology from the Met.
Corbyn to be Your Party parliamentary leader as Sultana joins leadership committee
Here is Alexandra Topping’s story on the Your Party leadership elections.
Here are the full results for the Your Party central executive committee elections.
Trump administration meets with UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson
The far-right activist Tommy Robinson has been hosted by the Trump administration for a meeting at the state department in Washington, Nadeem Badshah reports.
Corbyn welcomes Your Party leadership election results giving his allies, not Zarah Sultana’s, control of its executive
Jeremy Corbyn has welcomed the results of elections that mean his supporters now have a majority on the central executive committee that runs his new party, Your Party.
Activists from his The Many slate won 14 of the seats on the executive, while supporters of his rival Zara Sultana’s Grassroots Left slate won seven of the seats.
The results should pave the way for Corbyn to become the party’s leader in parliament. At a national level, there will be a collective leadership.
Some 25,347 people voted in the election out of 40,985 verified Your Party members, a turnout of 61.8%
In a statement afterwards, Corbyn said:
I am delighted that members have voted for a mass, socialist party that takes the fight to Starmer and Farage.
Now, the real work begins. We have a precious opportunity to unite our movement around a bold vision for this country – one that creates a more caring, equal and peaceful world for all. I look forward to working with all members to make this vision a reality.
We are at a dangerous moment. The fear, divisiveness and racism of Reform should not be appeased. It must be opposed. There is only one way we will defeat them: by working together under a common cause of redistribution and peace.
Together, we can provide hope to those who are fed up with inequality, disempowered by poverty and disgusted by war — and build a society that cares for each other and cares for all.
How government intends to spend a further £50m on two plans to tackle rough sleeping
And here are details of the government’s plans to spend more than £50m on two programmes to tackle homelessness in England. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government says:
Leading the way, a £37m Ending Homelessness in Communities Fund will supercharge the work of voluntary, community and faith groups, often the first port of call for people in crisis. This record investment will be allocated competitively to small and medium-sized organisations delivering day-to-day prevention and support services across England. The fund will be used to support projects, staffing and building improvements to expand sector capacity, strengthen community networks and develop long‑term, trauma‑informed approaches to ending rough sleeping.
A further £15m Long-Term Rough Sleeping Innovation Programme will target the 28 areas facing the greatest long term rough sleeping pressures, including London. Funding will help partners and local authorities find smarter, more joined-up ways to get people off the streets for good, from complex case coordination to peer mentoring and stronger links between services.
Today’s announcements are the next step in the government’s National Plan to End Homelessness, backed by £3.6bn. The plan makes three pledges to be achieved by the end of this parliament: halve long-term rough sleeping, end the unlawful use of B&Bs for families, and prevent more households from becoming homeless in the first place.
Rough sleeping in England reaches 15-year high, government figures suggest
The government has announced plans to spend more than £50m on two programmes to tackle homelessness in England – as figures show rough sleeping at its highest level for 15 years.
In a report, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Goverment said:
The number of people estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2025 is 4,793. This is a new record high, exceeding the previous peak of 4,751 in 2017. This is the fourth annual increase in a row, increasing 3% since 2024, and 171% higher than 2010 when the snapshot approach was introduced.
The rate of people sleeping rough in England has increased to 8.2 people per 100,000 in the population in 2025 from 8.0 per 100,000 in 2024, though remains lower than the peak in 2017 (8.5 per 100,000).
43% of all people sleeping rough on a single night in autumn are in London and the south-east.
The 4,793 figure is the highest since the government started collected rough sleeping figures by counting the number of people sleeping rough on a single night in 2010.
John Glenton, chief care and support officer at Riverside, an organisation providing accommodation for the homeless, said these figures were “alarming”.
But he also pointed out that other measures show an even rough sleeping at a higher rate. He explained:
The monthly estimates show 9,194 people were sleeping rough in England which paints a truer picture of a humanitarian emergency being normalised on the streets of towns and cities across England.
While we welcome the new £50m of funding to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping it is crucial that homelessness services and supported housing receive long-term sustainable funding.
Bob Blackman, a Conservative MP and co-chair of the all-party group for ending homelessnes, said the figures today were are “a national disgrace and undermine any ambition this government might have to end rough sleeping for good”.
Praising a report by the Centre for Social Justice thinktank on homelessness, he said:
The CSJ’s analysis shows a system trapped in crisis and a state unable to keep pace with the pressures it faces.
The public expect that those with no right to be in the UK, or those who would be better supported by returning home, are not left to languish across our town and city centres.
Your Party is now announcing the results of its leadership team elections. They were due at 11am, but there was a delay. There is a live feed here.
Your Party is about to announcing the results of the elections to its leadership team, its central executive committee. There is a live feed here.
And here is Alexandra Topping’s preview.
Number of young people not in employment, education or training edges closer to 1m, ONS says
The number of young people not in employment, education or training (so-called Neets) increased in the final months of last year and edged closer to one million, according to official figures. The Press Association says:
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the number of Neets aged 16 to 24 was reported at 957,00 in the three months from October to December.
It represents an increase from 946,000 in the previous quarter.
It also means that around 12.8% of the age group were classed as Neets over the period.
The data covers young people who are unemployed or economically inactive, but not those who are in formal education or completing an apprenticeship or vocational course.
It is the latest data pointing towards a tough labour market, particularly for entry-level positions.
Separate figures from the ONS earlier this month showed that the overall unemployment rate for Britons rose to 5.2% for the three months to November.
