Labour has plunged into internal turmoil following a bruising defeat in the Gorton and Denton by-election, with pressure intensifying on Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership.
In a dramatic outcome, the party slipped to third place behind the Greens and Reform UK, marking a sharp drop in support compared with the last general election just 18 months ago.
Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner described the result as a moment of reckoning, urging the party to respond decisively and reconnect with voters.
Labour Figures Urge Leadership Rethink After By-Election Blow
Posting on X, she said: “It’s time to really listen – and to reflect. 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. That’s what all of us across our movement need to rededicate ourselves to this morning.”
Maryam Eslamdoust, general secretary of the Labour-affiliated TSSA union, went further, calling for the prime minister to step down.
She said: “It’s clear that the disastrous lurch to the right under Keir Starmer is haemorrhaging Labour votes to the Greens. There’s an urgent need for a change in leadership, and Keir must announce his departure immediately.”
Internal Critics Say Party Has Drifted From Core Values
Labour MP and long-standing Starmer critic Brian Leishman renewed his demand for a change at the top, arguing the party had moved too far from its traditional position.
“We need to be a proper Labour government and live by real Labour Party values,” he said. “He has proved that he is not the leader that can and will do that. He has to go for the good of Scotland, the UK and the party.”
Fellow Labour MP Karl Turner labelled the by-election outcome “a catastrophe” and pointed to the decision not to select Andy Burnham as the party’s candidate.
He said: “My message to Keir Starmer, the prime minister, is this: why don’t we try and be Labour?”
Party Sources Split Over How Serious Defeat Is
One Labour source criticised the party’s strategic direction, saying: “Blue Labour need to be done. This result shows you can’t ape Redorm rhetoric and alienate own voters and expect thanks. This is a radical Labour government, but many of our supporters don’t know that.”
However, a senior Labour figure urged colleagues to keep the result in perspective.
“The Greens can win a by-election, but they cannot win a general election,” the source said.
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“George Galloway – who backed the Greens in this by-election – won seats mid-term, only to lose them again. And he certainly never became PM.
“The Green Party’s policies, including legalising all drugs and withdrawing from NATO, are not a serious programme for government.”
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