'We have to be braver': Angela Rayner's call to arms after branding Labour's crippling by-election defeat a 'wake up call'

Labour fell into third place behind Reform UK overnight, in what's been described as a voting collapse at the hands of Green local candidate Hannah Spencer.

The Green Party's candidate, a 34-year-old plumber and plasterer, sailed to victory as she overturned a Labour majority of more than 13,000.

In the wake of the result, Angela Rayner insisted the time had come for her party to "reflect" as the former Deputy Prime Minister issued a call to arms, insisting the party needs "to be braver".

Winning the Greater Manchester seat with 14,980 votes, the Greens came in ahead of Reform UK's Matt Goodwin in second with 10,578 - a Green majority of 4,402.

The result places mounting pressure on the shoulders of Sir Keir Starmer, with the Prime Minister's position looking increasingly precarious following the Labour vote collapse.

Read more: Polanski says Starmer 'lied to the British public' and accuses Labour of running 'smear' campaign after by-election win

Read more: ‘We can’t turn back the clock’: Heidi Alexander insists Starmer’s position secure despite Labour's 'deeply disappointing' by-election loss

"This result must be a wake up call. It’s time to really listen - and to reflect," she wrote in a post on X.

"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."

Labour in-fighting saw Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham blocked by the party from running in the by-election by a Labour committee.

Burnham was blocked from standing after failing to gain the required permission from the NEC to run as Labour's candidate, with the 10-person panel voting eight to one against him.

It comes as Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told Nick Ferrari at Breakfast the result was a protest as often happens during a by-election, labelling it "a repository for the anti-Reform vote".

"I’m not going to be drawn into pontificating on an Andy Burnham candidacy," she continued.

Backing the Prime Minister's position in the wake of the loss - a seat that has been Labour controlled for nearly 100 years, she insisted the party "can't turn the clock back now."

She added the party must "reflect on what this result means".

Putting the dismal result down to "tactical voting", Ms Alexander blamed "unique circumstances" on the loss, insisting the Green vote was "a repository for the anti-Reform vote".