Beleaguered Keir Starmer vows to 'fight on' in wake of Labour's crippling by-election defeat
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to "keep on fighting" following his party's overnight Gorton & Denton by-election defeat.
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Branding the party's landslide defeat to Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer “very disappointing”, the Labour leader insisted he understood voters felt “frustrated”.
It comes as the PM is reported to have sent a letter to Labour MPs blaming George Galloway for the party's loss to the Greens overnight.
"The Greens were able to capitalise on an endorsement from George Galloway to win over enough voters to push them over the line," he has reportedly written in a letter to his party.
It comes as Starmer reflected on the overnight result, conceding that the British public are “impatient for change”.
Asked whether he had considered resigning as PM in the wake of the result, Sir Keir Starmer said he would “keep on fighting” for the people who needed a Labour government.
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.
The letter, penned to MPs on Friday, saw the PM insist the party had to "learn lessons" from the defeat.
"I know this is a tough result for our movement but I still want to thank you for everything you did to support our brilliant candidate Angeliki Stogia. She did a fantastic job and Gorton and Denton deserved to have her as their MP. We’ve seen the true colours of Zack Polanski’s Greens in this campaign," he wrote.
"The Greens were able to capitalise on an endorsement from George Galloway to win over enough voters to push them over the line. Their willingness to welcome Galloway's divisive, sectarian politics is a sign that the Greens are not the harmless environmentalists they pretend to be, and their position on legalising all drugs shows how unstable this electoral coalition is. It cannot survive a general election campaign.
"It hurts, but this is the kind of result that we have often seen parties of government face. In by-elections people can make their voice heard without risking a change of government. I get it: people are rightly impatient to see the change they voted for."
He was seen to add: "The Greens may have won here, but they simply do not have the resources, the activist base or the local knowledge to replicate this victory across the country."
It comes as Angela Rayner branded Labour's Gorton & Denton by-election defeat a 'wake up call' for the party following their overnight loss to Zack Polanski's Greens.
The Greater Manchester seat has long been seen as a Labour stronghold, having been controlled by the party for nearly 100 years.
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.
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…
"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, 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".