The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has warned that Labour must stop taking liberal progressive voters for granted, following the party's humiliating third-place finish in the Gorton and Denton byelection. Writing in the Guardian, Khan said the result exposed a 'far-reaching change and fracturing' in UK politics and criticised the prime minister for branding the Green Party as 'extreme'.
Labour lost the seat, which it had held for nearly a century, to the Green Party's Hannah Spencer, who overturned a majority of more than 13,000. Labour candidate Angeliki Stogia came third, behind Reform UK's Matt Goodwin. The result has been described as one of the most humiliating byelection defeats in Labour's history.
Khan argued that trying to compete with Reform UK on the right was inauthentic and a betrayal of Labour values. He said the vast majority of Green voters were not extreme but shared Labour's values, and that calling them extreme would only turn more people away. He warned that without a change in course, Labour risked losing large strongholds like London, as it did in Scotland in the 2000s.
The mayor also criticised the government's hardline immigration policies, echoing Green leader Zack Polanski's claim that Labour was echoing 'the racist rhetoric of the far right'. Khan said Labour must unite progressives to prevent Reform UK, which he described as inspired by Donald Trump, from gaining ground. He called for the UK to rejoin the EU customs union and urged the party to stand up for equality, inclusion and diversity.
While not calling for Keir Starmer to resign, Khan said the prime minister's good work had been overshadowed by 'missteps and political positioning'. Labour is expected to lose hundreds of council seats in the May local elections, and Starmer could face a leadership challenge if the party does not reverse its fortunes.
