Nightmare coalition of hard-Left events and the Greens might set off ‘very substantial’ losses for Labour in May elections meltdown

A hard-Left election pact between Zack Polanski, Jeremy Corbyn and George Galloway could inflict ‘very substantial’ losses on Labour in May, a leading expert has warned.

Keir Starmer will hold a rare ‘political’ meeting of the Cabinet on Tuesday morning to discuss the fallout from the disastrous Gorton and Denton by-election – and what it means for the local elections in May, when Labour is already braced for heavy losses.

This month’s by-election in Manchester saw Labour pushed into third place behind the Greens and Reform in what had been one of Labour’s safest seats.

The victory came after Mr Corbyn’s Your Party and Mr Galloway’s Workers Party of Britain agreed to stand aside to avoid splitting the hard-Left and Muslim vote.

Elections expert Robert Hayward said there was ‘potential’ for the experiment to be repeated on a national scale in May in what will be the biggest test of public opinion since the general election in 2024.

At a press briefing on Monday, Lord Hayward said the effect could be particularly striking in London and other big cities where Labour is defending hundreds of seats from a challenge on the Left, as well as facing Reform and the Conservatives.

‘In Gorton we saw the Greens, the Workers Party and Your Party work together successfully and there is potential now for them to do that again in a whole load of other places, including London,’ he said.

‘If they work together and if the Greens are able to maintain their current poll ratings, then the potential threat for Labour is very substantial indeed.’

Green leader Zack Polanski celebrating with Gorton by-election winner Hannah Spencer

Hard-Left: Jeremy Corbyn’s new party is drawing support away from Labour

Labour currently controls 21 of London’s 32 boroughs and party insiders are already warning that the rise of the Greens could cost them hundreds of seats in the capital.

Lord Hayward said that even in areas like Sir Keir’s North London constituency, which is currently exclusively represented by Labour councillors, the Greens could make a breakthrough.

And he warned that Wes Streeting could suffer a blow to his own leadership ambitions if his local council in Redbridge, in north east London, is lost by Labour.

Mr Streeting clung on at the last election by barely 500 votes following a strong challenge by a pro-Gaza independent.

Lord Hayward said: ‘If you are arguing you want to be party leader it is slightly harder if Labour has just failed to hold your own local council.’

The Tory peer warned that Reform UK could also face tactical voting from opponents determined to limit Nigel Farage’s momentum.

Mr Farage has pledged to deliver a major blow to both Labour and the Conservatives at the May elections. But Lord Hayward said canvassers from the main parties reported voters saying they wanted ABR (anything but Reform) and were prepared to vote accordingly depending on who is best placed locally.

Just over 5,000 council seats across 136 English councils will be decided on May 7, as will the devolved governments in Scotland and Wales.

The elections are now seen as a litmus test for whether Sir Keir can survive as PM after months of dire poll ratings.

‘He may have felt that he survived a few weeks ago, but the question now is will he survive May 7?’ Lord Hayward said.

‘It is the most truly national elections, and also multi-party and multi-location elections.’