Fight to save lots of Labour and cease Reform as ‘circus’ management battle prompts most vital by-election in 50yrs
The Mirror’s Sophie Huskisson looks back on last week’s leadership chaos – and how the Makerfield by-election and the fight with Nigel Farage must now be Labour’s focus
Andy Burnham is trying to plan a route back to Parliament (Image: Getty Images)
Many Labour MPs are despairing at the way last week played out.
One left-leaning MP branded it a “circus”, telling me: “I’m fed up with how this looks. We’re finally in government and we’re less than two years in. We’ve not been in for 14 years and now this is the way to go. Seriously, guys?” One Labour staffer admitted the week was “the exact psychodrama we went in on the Tories for, so it’s not great for the party’s brand”.
As the week spiralled, calls from Labour MPs for the Prime Minister to stand down continued to mount. Leadership rivals Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham both made clear their leadership ambitions, while Angela Rayner was cleared of deliberate wrongdoing over her tax affairs.
Some Labour MPs blame the current mess on Keir Starmer for not himself choosing to step aside after catastrophic local election results. Others believe it is the fault of their colleagues who demanded the PM stand down when there was no clear agreement on a successor. Others place responsibility on leadership hopefuls for putting “personal ambition” above the party.
But after a week of chaos, no official challenge to Mr Starmer has been made and the focus is firmly shifting to what could be a seismic by-election next month.
Pollster Luke Tryl said the upcoming contest in Makerfield – which opened up after Josh Simons stepped down as an MP – will be the “most important by-election contest in the past 50 years”. Burnham has permission from Labour’s ruling body to stand but candidate selection is still ongoing. If he is selected, the by-election will both be seen as a personal challenge of proving he is the man to beat Reform – as well as a pathway to challenging Mr Starmer.
The Labour Party and its staff have been left in an unenviable position. Activists, campaigners and MPs must now fight a race in which the potential candidate’s main aim is that he is trying to return to Parliament in order to depose the PM.
A senior Labour source said: “While we are impartial, our job is to defend the leader and work of the Labour government. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster for everyone. The party now has a responsibility to win a by-election. We will throw everything at it as we would with every election.”
Burnham has described the contest as a battle for the “soul of the Labour party and country”. He says he is focused on defeating Nigel Farage, who has already sent party activists to campaign in the area. Reform came second in the Greater Manchester constituency during the general election and made gains during local elections earlier this month.
A Labour loss could be devastating, wiping out many MPs’ hopes of a Burnham return and solidifying an image of Reform as unstoppable. Labour MPs might be splintering at the moment but if there’s one thing they agree on, it’s that Farage cannot be allowed to win the keys to Downing Street.
One Labour MP – who is an ally of Streeting – told The Mirror that beating Reform was in the mind’s eye of Labour MPs, many of whom saw Mr Farage’s right-wing outfit decimate their areas in elections across parts of England, Wales and Scotland earlier this month.
They said: “What’s motivating this contest, most Labour MPs and me personally, is that this is about keeping Nigel Farage out of No10 and it’s about winning the next election.”
A left-wing MP – who is leaning towards supporting Burnham – added: “We’ve got to win this by-election. We’re all going to have to make sure we win. Speed is of the essence so we can rebuild. All I’m thinking about selfishly is my seat. It’s going to be a huge challenge if we carry on like this.”
