UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – British PM Sir Keir Starmer faces backlash from Labour MPs after losing his first by-election to Reform UK, with backbenchers voicing concerns over his policies.
As reported by The Guardian, Labour MPs have launched criticism at Keir Starmer following his first by-election defeat in government, where he lost by only six votes to Nigel Farage’s party.
The prime minister and his team have come under fire from backbenchers over their complacency in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, raising fears over his failure to visit the seat.
What did Labour MPs say about the Runcorn campaign?
One senior Labour MP stated,
“I was quite shocked at how complacent the campaign was, especially in Runcorn but nationally as well.”
He added,
“Everyone seemed convinced we were going to win by a reasonably comfortable margin. The NHS message does not work against Farage, but the centre wouldn’t hear it, or the fact that Keir’s unpopularity was brought up on almost every door.”
A second Labour MP said,
“The boys in No 10 should spend less time briefing about who’s driving the train, and more time actually getting on with building the tracks.”
The same MP continued,
“People haven’t felt the change we promised and they are fed up after 14 years of a hard time under the Tories. They will start looking for answers elsewhere. I worry we are taking the people we built the party to represent – the working class – for granted. We were elected to fix public services and raise living standards and we’ve really got to start doing that.”
A third Labour MP said,
“It’s all very well for No 10 to say we’ve got to keep delivering. The problem is that it’s the stuff we’ve delivered that people hate.”
Senior figures on Labour’s left blamed the party’s defeat on what they described as Keir Starmer’s uninspiring government policies.
Brian Leishman, who represents Alloa and Grangemouth, stated that “the first 10 months haven’t been good enough or what the people want.”
Kim Johnson, MP for Liverpool Riverside, warned that without “bold, hopeful policies,” the far right will capitalize on the gap.
Some Labour MPs argued that their party should avoid obsessing over election politics, urging the party to deliver effective policies during its four years in parliament.
One MP said,
“Stay cool, colleagues. We have a gigantic majority and acres of time before the next election.”
What did government sources say about Labour’s defeat?
A government source said Labour was confident of winning, citing positive canvassing returns in the final stretch despite knowing the race was difficult.
The source stated,
“You have to keep telling yourself that Reform doesn’t necessarily show up in the data. You end up with a big chunk of non-voters [who] aren’t contactable and don’t show up in polling.”
Another government insider acknowledged Reform UK’s strong performance but highlighted that Labour faced an uphill battle after the seat was vacated due to an assault scandal involving Mike Amesbury.
The source stated,
“You cause a byelection like that, and people are going to be pissed off about having to go out and vote.”
Voters in Runcorn reject Labour and choose Farage instead
During their door-knocking campaign in Runcorn for the Lancashire council elections, a Green Party campaigner noticed a significant rise in negative sentiment towards Labour, especially directed at Keir Starmer.
The activist said,
“In Runcorn, the Labour message was, ‘Vote Labour or get Nigel Farage’, and quite a lot of people seemed to go, ‘OK, I’ll take Farage’. I’ve been doing this for a decade and I’ve never seen this level of dislike for Labour, particularly from people who were willing to give them a chance last year and feel they were given false hope.”
He added,
“One man chased me down a path yelling, ‘Are you Labour?’ When I told him I was a Green he calmed down.”
What did Keir Starmer say about election results?
Sir Keir Starmer admitted the outcome was “disappointing” and told reporters on Friday,
“My response is we get it. We were elected last year to bring about change.”
He pledged more efforts to deliver change more swiftly.
What did the Labour spokesperson say about the byelection results?
A Labour spokesperson said by-elections are
“always difficult for the party in government and the events which led to this one being called made it even harder.”
They added,
“While Labour has suffered an extremely narrow defeat, the shock is that the Conservative vote has collapsed. Moderate voters are appalled by the talk of a Tory-Reform pact.”
Nigel Farage’s views on winning Runcorn and Helsby
Nigel Farage stated,
“Winning is obviously fantastic, but just think about the swing, think about the change – this is heartland Labour Party. Their vote has collapsed, and much of it has come to us.”
He added,
“And that does away with the media narrative that it’s somehow just us versus the Conservatives. It’s not – this is a whole different politics.”