Keir Starmer ‘get up name’ as Labour reels after nightmare by-election loss
The loss of the Gorton and Denton by-election triggered a wave of Labour anger as the party sank to third – sparking calls to treat the defeat as a ‘wake up call’
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing up to a disastrous defeat(Image: PA)
Keir Starmer has been urged to treat Labour’s by-election nightmare as a “wake up call” after the Greens pulled off a major upset in a seat it has held for nearly 100 years.
Labour was relegated to third place in Gorton and Denton as Green candidate Hannah Spencer stormed to victory with 14,980 votes – a majority of 4,402. Hard-right Reform candidate Matt Goodwin came second on 10,578 votes, followed by Labour’s Angeliki Stogia on 9,364.
The victory – the Greens’ first ever in a parliamentary by-election – triggered a wave of Labour anger as the party failed to defend a seat it won with a 13,413-vote majority in 2024. And there were recriminations over the decision by Labour chiefs to block Andy Burnham from standing in the race.
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Mr Starmer struck a defiant tone, saying he would fight “for as long as I’ve got breath in my body” to help those who need change. But ex-Deputy PM Angela Rayner said the by-election defeat must be a “wake up call” for the Government. “It’s time to really listen – and to reflect,” she said.
“Voters want the change that we promised – and they voted for. If we want to unrig the system, if we want to make the change we were sent into Government to make, we have to be braver.
“A Labour agenda that puts people first.” Joanne Thomas, General Secretary of Usdaw, a union usually loyal to Mr Starmer, urged the Government to learn lessons.
“A majority of voters there do not feel that the Labour Government is providing the change they need, or the change the Labour Party committed to at the General Election,” she said.
“I hope the Government reflects seriously on how it can regain that trust.” Others went further, with Fire Brigades Union chief Steve Wright saying the party risked heavy losses at the May elections if it failed to “change course immediately”.
Labour MP Karl Turner, who has been critical of the PM’s approach to criminal justice, said the result was “catastrophic”. He added: “Frankly the fact that Andy Burnham was blocked, who was the candidate who gave us our best chance, that’s why we are where we are.”
The Prime Minister described the result as “very disappointing” – but insisted he understood voters’ frustration. He dismissed questions over whether he would resign, saying: “I came into politics late in life to fight for change for those people who need it. “I will keep on fighting for those people for as long as I’ve got breath in my body.”
The PM also pledged to “fight against extremes in politics” on both sides that threatened to “tear our country apart.” In a letter to Labour MPs, Mr Starmer ramped up his attacks on Zack Polanski’s party.
He said: “We will continue to warn of the risk the Greens pose: the risk of extreme policies like legalising all drugs and pulling out of Nato that most voters strongly reject, and the risk of splitting the progressive vote so that Reform come through the middle.” Behind the scenes, there was real fury over the Green victory.
A Government source told the Mirror : “They are the new Lib Dems. Shape-shifting snake oil merchants playing opposition politics.” The source also called for cool heads in Labour, saying: “This is going to have an impact, of course, but we can’t view everything through the prism of one by-election.”
Meanwhile, Downing Street rebuffed calls to dramatically change course and said Labour must deliver for “mainstream Britain”. A No10 source said: “We have a progressive manifesto which is popular with the public and we need to get on with the delivery. It’s not about copying the Greens platform.
“There is always a problem in Government that there are distractions. But there is a meaty agenda that we need to shout about. “The most important thing is the cost of living and we have to keep going at that really hard rather than giving up to go down another alley.”
The source added: “We have the Greens on one extreme and Reform on the other. We have a real opportunity to deliver for mainstream Britain.” Ms Spencer, who works as a plumber, offered an apology to her customers after she was elected as the Greens fifth MP.
In her victory speech, she joked: “I think I might have to cancel the work that you had booked in, because I’m heading to Parliament. And when I get there, I will make space for everyone doing jobs like mine, we will finally get a seat at the table.”
The 34-year-old pledged to help those struggling with the cost of living as she said working hard “used to get you something. She said: “Instead of working for a nice life, we’re working to line the pockets of billionaires. We are being bled dry.
“And I don’t think it’s extreme or radical to think working hard should get you a nice life.”
