Overview
- Voters go to the polls on 26 February in a newly configured, traditionally Labour-leaning seat where Labour’s Angeliki Stogia faces Green candidate Hannah Spencer and Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin.
- Labour has deployed high-profile support and a ‘unity not division’ message focused on GP access, transport, fly-tipping and school breakfast clubs, casting the race as the best route to block Reform.
- Market researcher Omnisis reported the Greens could take the seat; Labour dismissed the findings as unreliable, and Lucy Powell argued the contest is between Labour and Reform.
- Campaign rancour has escalated with multiple complaints and investigations, including a police probe into alleged ‘treating’ at a Labour event and separate rows over misleading literature and tactics.
- Reform’s Goodwin has faced pressure to reject a boost from far-right activist Tommy Robinson, which the party says it does not welcome, while Spencer has batted away media claims of hypocrisy over travel and property ownership.