‘We are the forgotten little town’: will disenchantment in Denton leave it ripe for Reform?

The Guardian - World NewsEN 5 min read 100% complete by Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondentFebruary 19, 2026 at 12:00 PM

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long article 5 min

Ahead of a February 26th byelection, Denton, a town in Tameside near Manchester, is seeing a strong presence of Reform UK. Residents like Ian and Irene Singleton express disillusionment with the decline of the high street, rising costs, and the difficulty for young people to buy homes. They feel Denton has been neglected, citing poor transport links, reduced bin collections despite rising council tax, and a lack of community investment. The town's railway station was the least-used in Britain for 2023-24. This sense of being a "forgotten little town" fuels support for Reform UK, with residents feeling left behind by both Conservative and Labour governments.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Welsh 30% United Kingdom 40% Gorton ×250% Tameside 60% Reform UK ×270% Manchester ×370% Irene Singleton ×270% Ian Singleton ×480% Denton ×790%

Keywords

denton 100% reform party 80% forgotten town 70% byelection 70% disenchantment 70% high street decline 60% local economy 60% cost of living 50% public services 50% national identity 50%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.40

Source Transparency

Source

The Guardian - World News

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis.

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denton reform party forgotten town byelection disenchantment high street decline local economy cost of living public services national identity

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