Keir Starmer has insisted he will “fight on” following Labour’s catastrophic defeat to the Greens in Gorton & Denton, as Angela Rayner demanded the party become “braver” in a call for change that stopped short of urging him to quit immediately.
The Prime Minister played down the loss as a “disappointing” setback for a government in “mid-term” when asked on a London visit if he had contemplated resigning. He stated: “I will keep on fighting for those people for as long as I’ve got breath in my body. I will also fight against the extremes in politics on the Right and the Left parties who want to tear our country apart.”
Rayner, seen by many as the favourite to replace Starmer, stated: “This result must be a wake up call. It’s time to really listen – and to reflect. Voters want the change that we promised – and they voted for.” She added: “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.”
Hannah Spencer secured 14,980 votes to win with a 4,402-vote majority ahead of Reform’s Matt Goodwin (10,578 votes) and Labour’s Angeliki Stogia (9,364 votes). The Greens overturned Labour’s majority of more than 13,000 votes from the 2024 general election, claiming their fifth MP and first-ever parliamentary by-election victory.
Backbencher Karl Turner stated it was the “worst result we could have expected,” insisting Andy Burnham would have won and calling for a more “socialist” Labour. Brian Leishman demanded Starmer “do the right thing… and go,” whilst Richard Burgon said the “blame for defeat lies squarely with Keir Starmer and his clique.”
Labour allies insisted Starmer will survive at least until local elections in May because rebels “don’t have anyone” in position to challenge. Both loyalists and rebels pointed to the absence of plausible rivals, with Burnham not an MP, Rayner still to resolve her tax wrangles with HMRC, and Wes Streeting seen as damaged by his links to Lord Mandelson.
Furious recriminations erupted over Starmer blocking popular Manchester mayor Burnham from being the candidate amid fears he would be a leadership rival in the Commons. Kate Osborne stated: “Starmer personally leading the intervention at the NEC officers meeting to block Burnham was not only obviously a huge error but also showed just how weak he is.”
York MP Rachael Maskell stated “the PM has to show he can turn this around before May,” when the government faces crucial local elections. She demanded: “The first test will be with jury trials which has to be dropped from the Courts and Tribunals Bill.”
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham told Starmer: “Stop listening your rich mates and start listening to everyday people.” Bell Ribeiro-Addy warned: “Being pushed to third in Gorton & Denton, one of our safest seats, is an indictment of the government’s current approach. Unless we get back to core Labour values, we are heading for disaster.”
The result demonstrates Zack Polanski’s “eco-populist” Greens are capable of shattering Labour’s fragile coalition despite peddling extreme policies including legalising hard drugs, scrapping the nuclear deterrent, and leaving NATO. Spencer’s focus on Gaza with a significant Muslim vote in Gorton & Denton will spread panic among Starmer’s MPs.
Nigel Farage complained of “cheating” and Muslim “sectarianism” after reports of so-called “family voting” from independent observers. Democracy Volunteers expressed fears about major breaches of electoral law, stating they had seen “the highest levels of family voting at any election in our 10-year history of observing elections in the UK.”
Manchester City Council insisted “no such issues have been reported.” Labour chair Anna Turley called the reports “extremely worrying and concerning.” Farage stated it “raises serious questions about the integrity of the democratic process in predominantly Muslim areas.”
Polling guru Sir John Curtice stated: “The nervousness that already existed inside the Labor Party about Keir Starmer’s ability to turn around his party’s electoral fortunes, that nervousness is now going to be heightened.”
Despite flooding the area with ministers and 1,000 activists, Labour did not even secure second place. The humiliation was especially personal as Starmer made a campaign visit Monday, although he was carefully kept away from ordinary voters.
Kemi Badenoch stated Labour created the “monster of harvesting Muslim community bloc votes” and it had come back to bite them. A Conservative spokesman said: “Keir Starmer has killed the Labour Party. In losing one of Labour’s safest seats, in a constituency that has returned Labour MPs for almost a century, Starmer has shown he no longer commands the support of Labour voters and is now a lame duck leader.”
