‘We can’t turn back the clock’: Heidi Alexander insists Starmer’s position secure despite Labour's 'deeply disappointing' by-election loss
Starmer's position has been called into question following the loss, pushing Labour into third place.
Labour's Heidi Alexander has insisted Sir Keir Starmer’s position remains secure despite what she called a 'deeply disappointing' by-election loss overnight.
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The Green Party's candidate Hannah Spencer sailed to victory in the Gorton & Denton by-election, overturning a Labour majority of more than 13,000 as pressure continued to mount on the Prime Minister amid a Labour backlash.
Spencer, a 34-year-old plumber, won the Greater Manchester seat with 14,980 votes, ahead of Reform UK's Matt Goodwin in second with 10,578 - a Green majority of 4,402.
It's a win that saw Labour slip into third place behind Reform UK, with Labour's Transport Secretary insisting she was "not going to try and sugar coat" the loss "or pretend otherwise" in the wake of the vote collapse.
Backing the Prime Minister's position, she insisted Labour "can't turn the clock back now," adding the party must "reflect on what this result means".
Doubling down on her assertion the result was a protest vote, she added that the Prime Minister will be "more determined to go faster in delivering change than ever before".
It follows Labour in-fighting after Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham was blocked by the party from running in the by-election by a Labour committee.
"I’m not going to be drawn into pontificating on an Andy Burnham candidacy," she continued.
"He’s the elected Mayor of Greater Manchester, he stood a couple of years ago and said he wanted to serve in that role. We’ve got rules in the Labour Party to prevent elected politicians from effectively hopping from one job to the next," she insisted.
"If there had to have been a big mayoral election in Greater Manchester, that would be the equivalent of running 20 by election campaigns."
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.
Questioned by Nick Ferrari at Breakfast on the PM's decision not to allow the Greater Manchester Mayor to run, Ms Alexander was also asked whether Starmer's appearance at the by-election was an embarrassment given the loss.
This result must be a wake up call. It’s time to really listen - and to reflect.
— Angela Rayner (@AngelaRayner) February 27, 2026
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…
"The PM was criticised the last time he didn’t go up to a by-election in runcorn because he was away on international business and he went up to support the campaign team… This result is no reflection on the Labour Candidate."
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".
"Just because people in Gorton & Denton voted for a Green MP yesterday, I don’t think that means that there’s a majority of people in the country that want Zack Polanski to be their PM," she insisted.
"Nor do I think that there’s a majority that want the divisive and toxic politics of Nigel Farage."
"It’s not unusual to lose mid-term by-elections and the circumstances by which this mid-term came about weren’t the greatest," she insisted.
"For me that reinforces the need for all appointed politicians upholding really high standards in public life - because that’s what the public rightly expect."
In her victory speech following the result, an emotional Ms Spencer said: "I didn't grow up wanting to be a politician. I am a plumber.
"I am no different to every single person here in this constituency.
"I work hard. That is what we do."
The by-election was triggered following the resignation of Labour MP Andrew Gwynne on health grounds in January, with the Labour MP under investigation by parliament at the time over offensive messages sent to a central WhatsApp group that included local Labour figures.
"For me, that reinforces the need for all appointed politicians upholding really high standards in public life, because that’s what the public rightly expects," Ms Alexander insisted.
Speaking following the result, Angela Rayner called it "a wake up call".
"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," she continued.
"That’s what all of us across our movement need to rededicate ourselves to this morning."
Following the result, Mr Farage called Spencer's win as a "victory for sectarian voting and cheating".
But in response to the accusation, a Greens spokesperson said: "This is an attempt to undermine the democratic result and is straight out of the Trump playbook.
"We’ve just won a historic by-election by a comfortable margin. We’ve shown the country that Greens can beat Reform, despite their big business donations."
It comes as Reform UK's David Bull told Nick: "It’s not a matter of if he goes, it’s when he goes".