The public wants change - it's now on Starmer to dig Labour out of this electoral hole
2 May 2025, 16:48
There is one thing every political party agrees on this afternoon: the public wants change.
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But what that change actually entails and how to get there is an area of deep division. Even within parties themselves.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said this afternoon: “We promised change at the last election and we're getting on and delivering that change.” He pointed to waiting lists and interest rates coming down. But acknowledged the change needs to be delivered "further and faster."
But rather than pushing down on the accelerator, his own re-elected Mayor for Doncaster, Ros Jones, say it's a change of direction that's needed:
"I think they [the government] need to look again as putting up the cost of national insurance is hitting some of the smaller businesses and of course the PIP which many people are worried about now."
She is not alone. Labour MP Kim Johnson wrote on social media this afternoon: “Runcorn is a warning we can’t ignore. Voters want change – and if we don’t offer it with bold, hopeful policies that rebuild trust, the far right will.
“If we don’t step up now, the alternative won’t be more of the same – it’ll be an extreme right-wing government.”
Other Labour MPs I spoke to described Reform UK’s by-election win as “frustrating” but said they hoped their colleagues would remain calm, warning against policy u-turns and a major mass reshuffle of ministers.
But the news overnight that Sarah Pochin won Labour’s 16th safest seat - with just 6 votes - will put worry among all Labour MPs.
Deputy Reform UK leader Richard Tice described it on LBC as akin to beating Diane Abbott in Hackney North and Stoke Newington.
It can be easy to overstate the importance of one by-election result but this result seems to show the beginning of this country’s realignment of politics. Or as pollster John Curtice said this morning - we are now in the “era of five party politics”.
Today Farage described himself as the real opposition party to the Government.
While the Conservatives retain that title officially, it is Reform UK’s shadow that government ministers will increasingly fear.
With Kemi Badenoch keeping her policy powder dry, the pitch is left open for Reform to dominate with an alternative agenda. And Farage is already taking advantage, exploiting Badenoch’s policy vacuum.
Farage has never been in government - he’s only been an MP for a matter of months - but his campaigning appeal is upsetting the status quo.
Starmer said today he gets it. He understands why he lost. But it seems impossible to marry the impatience of an electorate hungry for change and a government still trying to find its feet.
The party hopes that scrutiny on Reform’s policies will now ramp up after this win. One Labour source claimed a lot of what they’re saying isn’t credible and not yet fully tested.
They don’t want to push the panic button on their own agenda yet. But the Prime Minister will need to prove to his own base that he can dig them out of this electoral hole.
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Aggie Chambré is LBC's Political Correspondent.
LBC Opinion provides a platform for diverse opinions on current affairs and matters of public interest.
The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official LBC position.
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