Keir Starmer is facing an ultimatum from his own party to change direction or risk a leadership challenge within months after the Greens humiliated Labour with a historic byelection victory in Gorton and Denton. Overturning a 13,000 Labour majority from the general election, Hannah Spencer, a local plumber and Green councillor, became the party’s fifth MP on Friday. Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin was second, just ahead of Labour candidate Angeliki Stogia.
The scale of defeat in an area that had returned Labour MPs for nearly a century plunged ministers and MPs into renewed despair. Even loyal ministers said the surge in the Greens’ fortunes under Zack Polanski meant the prime minister had to address an exodus of Labour voters from its left flank. In a pointed comment, Angela Rayner called the result “a wake-up call”.
Starmer appeared minded to ignore the pressure, using a TV clip and letter to attack the Greens as an “extreme” leftwing equivalent of Reform UK. But without a significant turnaround, he could face a leadership challenge after elections in May to the Scottish and Welsh parliaments and English councils. One poll suggested Labour could be pushed into fourth place in Scotland for the first time.
The sense of humiliation is heightened by the fact that Downing Street blocked Andy Burnham from standing in the byelection, with many believing his local popularity would have saved the seat. Burnham is understood not to have ruled out returning to parliament. For the Greens, the result was a historic triumph, with Spencer saying she offered voters an alternative to “working to line the pockets of billionaires”.
