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Labour At War As Keir Starmer Faces Calls To Quit After By-Election Humiliation

Labour At War As Keir Starmer Faces Calls To Quit After By-Election Humiliation

Starmer visited the campaign on Monday. Keir Starmer is facing calls to quit as prime minister as Labour descends into civil war in the wake of the party’s humiliating defeat in the Gorton and Denton by-election. In a seismic result, Labour were beaten into third place by the Greens and Reform UK as the party’s support plummeted from the last general election barely 18 months ago. Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said the result “must be a wake up call” for the party as she called on Starmer to “be braver”. Posting on X, she said: “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. “That’s what all of us across our movement need to rededicate ourselves to this morning.” This result must be 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… — Angela Rayner (@AngelaRayner) February 27, 2026 Maryam Eslamdoust, general secretary of the Labour-affiliated TSSA union, said it was time for the PM to quit. She said: “It’s clear that the disastrous lurch to the right under Keir Starmer is haemorrhaging Labour votes to the Greens. “There’s an urgent need for a change in leadership, and Keir must announce his departure immediately.” Labour MP and long-term Starmer critic Brian Leishman also repeated his calls for Starmer to go, saying he had taken the party too far to the right. “We need to be a proper Labour government and live by real Labour Party values,” he said. “He has proved that he is not the leader that can and will do that. He has to go for the good of Scotland, the UK and the party.” Labour MP Karl Turner said the by-election result was “a catastrophe” and blamed the PM’s decision for not allowing Andy Burnham to be the party’s candidate. He said: “My message to Keir Starmer, the prime minister, is this: why don’t we try and be Labour?” A Labour source also condemned the party’s move to the right under Starmer. “Blue Labour need to be done,” he said. “This result shows you can’t ape Redorm rhetoric and alienate own voters and expect thanks. This is a radical Labour government, but many of our supporters don’t know that.” However, a senior Labour source called on Starmer’s critics not to over-react to the by-election result. “The Greens can win a by-election, but they cannot win a general election,” the source said. “George Galloway - who backed the Greens in this by-election - won seats mid-term, only to lose them again. And he certainly never became PM. “The Green Party’s policies, including legalising all drugs and withdrawing from NATO, are not a serious programme for government.” Related... 'It's A Catastrophe': Labour MP Hits Out At Keir Starmer After By-Election Disaster Greens Claim Historic By-Election Victory In Crushing Blow For Keir Starmer Greens Hit Back At Farage's Claim They Won By-Election By 'Cheating'