Farage's Next Big Fight Is on the Home Turf of Oasis
Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer talks with supporters in Manchester.
Photographer: Anadolu
There’s a corner of northern England that will this week offer a window on the state of UK politics, and a warm-up for the next few years as upstart populists battle against the mainstream parties that have ruled Britain for a century.
On Thursday the citizens of Gorton and Denton in Manchester will vote for their next member of Parliament, after the last one resigned. Formed of a clutch of suburbs, the seat is a near-perfect microcosm of the UK, reflecting and amplifying the themes dominating the electoral landscape. Nigel Farage’s anti-migrant Reform UK has been leading the national polls for an age. But this local skirmish shows that in no way guarantees his ascension to prime minister.