As seen in our video. ‘The rudeness was not just bad form, it was truly appalling and a real lack of respect.’
11:08, 24 Apr 2026Updated 15:15, 24 Apr 2026
Green candidate snubs handshake after by-election defeat
The Green Party in Cornwall has been branded sore losers after their council by-election candidate refused to shake hands with the winner.
The Greens’ Abigail Hubbucks came second with 529 votes behind Lyndon Harrison for Reform UK who won the seat with 645 votes.
However after the results were announced, when Mr Harrison put his hand out to shake hands with Ms Hubbucks, he can be seen quickly pulling it back as she tells him she won’t shake hands with him in the video you can watch at the top of this article. She then walks off leaving him there with the other candidates.
The moment did not go unnoticed and many people have commented on what they see as an act of rudeness and lack of sportsmanship from the Green Party candidate.
Mr Harrison, the new member of Cornwall Council for the Newquay Porth & Tretherras division, told CornwallLive: “I’m rather sad that the young lady in the Green Party couldn’t shake my hand at the end. I think that does say an awful lot about the movement.
“They’re not the party of the environment anymore. They are a very different, very dangerous, creation.”
“If they cannot show basic courtesy in defeat, how can they be trusted to represent the whole community?. This is not progress, it is divisive and unprofessional.”
The Green Party candidate Abigail Hubbucks snubbing Reform UK winner Lyndon Harrison who won the Newquay Porth & Tretherras Cornwall Council by-election (Image: Lee Trewhela / LDRS)
Leading Reform UK member in Cornwall Neil Ferris added: “I must call out Abigail Hubbucks, Green Party. The rudeness in not shaking hands on losing, or clapping was not just bad form, it was truly appalling and a real lack of respect. Greens’ true colours showing?”
Cllr Drew Creek, the Green councillor for Newquay Trenance and Mayor of Newquay, defended Ms Hubbucks’ action saying shaking hands with Reform would “normalise and accept hate” when it should be called out and said she had politely refused to shake his hand due to comments he allegedly made on the campaign trail.
Yesterday’s council by-election was called following the tragic death of Cllr Kevin Towill, who last year defected from the Conservatives becoming Reform’s first councillor in the Lys Kernow / County Hall chamber.
You can read all about last night’s results here.
Perhaps it wasn’t a surprise that Reform ended up winning with a majority of 116 votes in a division where the previous incumbent was a very popular councillor and former Mayor of Newquay.
That Cllr Towill’s successor is his close friend and well-known Newquay taxi driver Harrison may have helped.
There was a 37.3 per cent turnout – 2,139 ballot papers from an electorate of 5,227 – with just one spoiled paper (on which an unimpressed voter had written “none of the above”).
The handshake snub moment was caught on video by local democracy reporter for Cornwall Lee Trewhela when he was covering the by-election result.
A jubilant Lyndon Harrison pictured after winning the Newquay Porth & Tretherras by-election for a Reform UK seat on Cornwall Council(Image: Lee Trewhela / CornwallLive)
Many people took to Facebook to comment on Ms Hubbucks’ perceived “rudeness”.
Under our video on CornwallLive’s Facebook page, Pam Hennigan posted: “Green Party refusing to shake his hand. Oh dear, a bit of sour grapes there love.”
Katie Lutey said: “Imagine not being able to shake someone’s hand when they beat you! You can tell her parents gave her a participation medal every time.”
Stewart Johnson agreed: “Green didn’t have the decency to congratulate the Reform winner, shows the quality of the candidates took it for granted she would win, well done Reform.”
Rebecca Hunt added: “As a conservationist who works to protect nature and is worried about Reform’s stance on this, and other things, that handshake rejection was classless and simply showed a lack of respect for the democratic process.”
Cllr Creek said: “Abigail politely declined to shake Lyndon Harrison’s hand. She told him ‘I’m okay thank you’. The moment when he offered his hand and she refused to shake it could be seen as bad sportsmanship but we see it as not wanting to normalise hate or accepting it.
“Abigail respects the democratic results but not the person that stood and what Reform stands for.”
Losing Green candidate Abigail Hubbocks, sitting in the road in Newquay and blocking traffic to highlight the climate crisis during an Extinction Rebellion protest five years ago
Cornwall’s Green Party coordinator Tom Scott added: “One can respect the result of a democratic election without according respect to a candidate who has done nothing to deserve it. And that does not make you a ‘sore loser’.”
As Hubbucks said she will continue to fight for the people of Newquay, adding: “Obviously, it’s disappointing to lose by such a narrow margin. But it’s also really encouraging that so many people voted Green, and it puts us in a very strong position to win next time.
“From talking with hundreds of people on the doorstep, I know that many are completely disillusioned with politics – some so much that they’ve stopped voting altogether. Others may have voted Reform because they think it’s at least offering something different. I’m afraid those people are going to be disappointed.
“At the same time, I know that there are so many people who want to see positive change in our community. As a Newquay town councillor, I’m going to carry on working hard to make that happen.”
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