Joseph McNamara, a 77-year old man living in Gorton, told the Independent last week why he had switched from voting Labour to voting Green in the by-election. “Starmer is for the higher-ups rather than the lower-downs. He promises things and says, ‘Oh yes I’ll do this, do that’. At the end of the day nothing happens.” Much of the media commentary about collapse in support for Labour since 2024 has focused on those Labour voters who now say they’ll vote for Farage’s Reform party.