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Green Party Scores Upset Win in UK Election in Blow to Labour, Far-Right Reform
"Instead of working for a nice life, we’re working to line the pockets of billionaires," victorious Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer said during her victory speech. "We’re being bled dry."
Feb 27, 2026
Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer on Thursday won an upset victory in a byelection in the Gorton and Denton constituency, delivering a blow to both Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the far-right Reform Party led by Nigel Farage.
As reported by the Guardian, Spencer, a local plumber, won by overturning a 13,000-vote majority that the Labour Party achieved in the 2024 general election.
In fact, Labour fell to third place in the Thursday election, winning 9,364 votes, compared to 14,980 votes for the Greens and 10,578 votes for Reform.
In her victory speech, Spencer emphasized major class divides in the UK, where she said people are working increasingly harder for fewer benefits.
"Working hard used to get you something," she said. "It got you a house. A nice life. Holidays. It got you somewhere. But now—working hard? What does that get you?... Instead of working for a nice life, we’re working to line the pockets of billionaires. We’re being bled dry."
The Green Party said Spencer's victory showed it was now a viable force in national elections, projecting that it is "on track to win over a hundred seats at the next general election, if the historic swing achieved to win Gorton and Denton is replicated nationwide."
Green Party leader Zack Polanski hailed the election result and predicted "a tidal wave of new Green MPs" in future elections should current trends continue.
"When I was elected Leader of the Greens I said we were here to replace Labour and I meant it," Polanski said. "Hannah was a fantastic candidate and I know she’ll make a brilliant MP."
Starmer, who has pushed the Labour Party to the right on issues such as immigration and transgender rights during his tenure, reacted bitterly to the defeat in a letter he sent to other Labour MPs.
"The result in Gorton and Denton is deeply disappointing," Starmer wrote. "Instead of a Labour MP who can be a local champion delivering for Gorton and Denton alongside a Labour Government and a Labour mayor, the people of Gorton and Denton now have a representative who is more interested in dividing people than uniting them."
Starmer, whose job approval rating in polls is consistently under 20%, also predicted that "over the coming months, people will feel the benefit of the long-term decisions this government is taking."
Socialist commentator Owen Jones, a longtime Starmer critic, gloated over the result in a social media post in which he reminded followers of Starmer's past statement that left-wing voters could "leave" if they didn't like the changes he was making to Labour.
"OK, Keir Starmer, we did as you asked us!" he wrote. "Happy now?"
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Arrest of Ex-UK Ambassador Peter Mandelson Over Epstein Ties Sparks Renewed Calls for Justice in the US
"In the UK, they are prosecuting the Epstein class..." said Rep. Ro Khanna. "We need accountability in the United States."
Feb 23, 2026
After a second prominent associate of Jeffrey Epstein was arrested in the UK, calls are growing louder for those in the US who may have been complicit in his crimes to face similar accountability.
Peter Mandelson, the former British ambassador to the US, was arrested by police on Monday on "suspicion of misconduct in public office.” The arrest is reportedly in connection with an investigation opened into the former minister earlier this month.
Mandelson was dismissed from his ambassadorship by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in September after leaked emails showed that he'd maintained a close friendship with Epstein long after the financier had been convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008.
A criminal probe was opened last month after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) released more files, suggesting that in 2009, Mandelson—then a member of the UK government—had passed Epstein sensitive internal economic information that could have affected international markets.
Bank statements also show Mandelson accepting $75,000 from Epstein over several years for an unknown purpose.
He is the second powerful figure in British society to be arrested amid scrutiny of his relationship with Epstein this month. Last week, former Prince Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in office, after emails showed him forwarding trade reports to Epstein, which were produced during his role as an official UK envoy.
Epstein had been charged with the sex trafficking of dozens of underage girls before his death in jail in 2019, and connections with the financier have led prominent individuals across Europe to be shamed out of office or out of influential corporate positions.
Neither Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor nor Mandelson has been criminally charged with any sexual misconduct related to the billionaire. However, at least two women have publicly accused Mountbatten-Windsor of having sex with them while underage after procuring them through Epstein.
In 2022, Mountbatten-Windsor settled a civil suit for about £12 million with Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that the former prince had sex with her when she was 17.
The arrest of yet another British government official for inappropriate dealings with Epstein has only heightened the contrast with the unaccountability of American elites, who have thus far emerged from the Epstein scandal unscathed despite damning connections.
"Peter Mandelson, the former British Ambassador to the US, was arrested today on suspicion of misconduct in public office. This is after files revealed Jeffrey Epstein sent $75,000 to accounts connected to him," wrote the official social media account for the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, which oversees the release of the files. "As we have said before: No one is above the law. We will make sure accountability and justice come to everyone in Epstein's world."
Files released by the DOJ in January, in compliance with a law passed last year, showed that at least one woman had accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in the 1980s after being introduced to him by Epstein, and that the FBI considered her to be credible, speaking to her on at least four occasions. It is not known what happened as a result of the investigation, and the DOJ slideshow referencing her allegation has since been scrubbed from the department's website.
Meanwhile, at least six other members of the current Trump administration have documented ties to Epstein revealed by the files.
Most notably, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was revealed to have lied when he claimed to have cut off connections to the billionaire in the early 2000s. In fact, Lutnick maintained a relationship with Epstein for nearly a decade after the billionaire registered as a sex offender and even visited his infamous Caribbean island with his family.
Many other figures in the upper echelon of American society also maintained close relationships with Epstein despite his criminal conviction, including former President Bill Clinton, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
Following news of Mandelson's arrest, US Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.)—who has led the charge for the release of the files in full to the American public, along with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)—said he wanted to see similar investigations and charges against Epstein's American associates.
"In UK, they are prosecuting the Epstein class [Massie] and I have exposed," Khanna wrote on social media. "We need accountability in the United States."
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'We Need Justice': Americans Envious as Elites in UK, Korea Face Legal Consequences
"If a prince can be held accountable, so can a president."
Feb 19, 2026
Some Americans on Thursday found themselves expressing envy after seeing elites in both the United Kingdom and South Korea face legal consequences for their actions.
First, former Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of inciting an insurrection with his failed bid in 2024 to seize power by declaring martial law.
According to The Guardian, the court justified sending the 65-year-old Yoon to jail for the rest of his life by noting his lack of contrition for his actions, which were described by Judge Jee Kui-youn as sending the military to the national assembly "to blockade the assembly hall and arrest key figures, including the assembly speaker and party leaders, thereby preventing lawmakers from gathering to deliberate or vote."
In the UK, law enforcement officials arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the one-time Duke of York, amid scrutiny over his ties to late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The New York Times reported that the former prince was taken into custody over "suspicions of misconduct in public office after accusations that he shared confidential information with Mr. Epstein while serving as a British trade envoy."
After seeing legal accountability for foreign elites, American politicians and commentators called for the same to happen in the US.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who along with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) forced the release of the Epstein files last year, said it was time for the US Department of Justice to prosecute powerful people implicated in Epstein's trafficking of underage girls.
"Prince Andrew was just arrested," wrote Massie. "This was the metric I established for success of the Epstein Files Transparency Act that Ro Khanna and I got passed. Now we need JUSTICE in the United States. It’s time for Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel to act!"
Massie's argument was echoed by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who posted a link to news about the Mountbatten-Windsor arrest on social media and commented, "This is exactly the kind of accountability we need from the Department of Justice."
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) argued the Mountbatten-Windsor arrest showed that "if a prince can be held accountable, so can a president."
President Donald Trump, who is featured prominently in the Epstein files, was indicted in 2023 on charges related to his attempts to illegally remain in power after losing the 2020 election, but that case was dropped after Trump triumphed in the 2024 presidential election.
MS NOW host Joe Scarborough said the Mountbatten-Windsor arrest showed that European countries at least still have a sense of shame that is currently absent in the US.
"At least they have shame in Europe if somebody was hanging out with Jeffrey Epstein, there are consequences," he fumed. "No consequences here!"
NEW: Joe Scarborough claims “morally bankrupt” Republicans are protecting allies named in the Jeffrey Epstein files after the U.K. arrests Prince Andrew
“….You know, [Vice President] JD Vance, always looking down the end of his little nose at Europe
Well, at least they have… pic.twitter.com/JyYjoys7Su
— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) February 19, 2026
CNN commentator Bakari Sellers argued that the actions taken in Korea and the UK showed how far the US has fallen in upholding the rule of law.
"Amazing how many other countries get it right," he observed. "Watching ex-South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol, sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of insurrection and Prince Andrew being arrested for his involvement with Epstein. We counting to 'preach' western values but are a laughing stock around the world."
Journalist Dave Levitan also described the lack of accountability for Trump and other powerful people implicated in the Epstein scandal as a national embarrassment.
"Getting shown up in the arena of elite impunity by the British monarchy is an incredible 'America at 250!' achievement," he wrote.
Writer Julian Sanchez pointed the finger at the US Supreme Court's 2024 ruling that granted presidents total immunity for official acts related to the office as poisonous to the rule of law.
"So SCOTUS, with its fabricated-out-of-thin-air immunity doctrine," he wrote, "has actually made American presidents less accountable than LITERAL royalty."
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