Labour’s loss at the Gorton and Denton by-election has been “very painful and bruising” – but replacing Sir Keir Starmer “won’t solve the problem”, Baroness Harriet Harman has said.
The former deputy Labour leader cautioned her party’s MPs from seeking to replace the prime minister following the loss – and insisted it “could be worse”.
Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer won the by-election with 14,980 votes – a majority of 4,402 – in the early hours of Friday morning, pushing Labour into third place in an area they have not lost since 1931.
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But speaking to the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harman insisted “it would’ve been worse if it had been Reform” who won, and urged Labour backbenchers to hold their resolve.
She told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby: “This has been very painful and bruising, it will increase anxiety in the run-up to the council elections in England, and in elections in Scotland and Wales.
“This will test the mettle of the PLP [Parliamentary Labour Party], they don’t want instability. They do want delivery on the manifesto.
“But the fundamentals remain absolutely the same – that piling instability into this situation by having a leadership challenge is not going to solve the problems that people want solved, which is improvement in the way their lives are, improvement in their public services and stability in government.”
The Labour peer also sought to play down Labour’s by-election loss, by saying a Reform UK victory would have “really scared me”.
She explained: “I would’ve felt worse if Reform had won because if you feel that this country is moving towards really quite divisive, racist, xenophobic, populist right-wing policies – that would’ve really scared me.
“It was very bruising and disappointing that Labour, having hope to win, didn’t win. But I would’ve felt much worse if Reform had won.”
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However, Baroness Harman conceded: “It’s not a good day, no doubt about it.
“But, I mean, it’s not… I don’t want to sound pollyannaish, but it could be worse.
“A lot of people will be feeling, ‘no, it couldn’t be worse’. But actually, as far as I’m concerned, it would’ve been worse if it had been Reform.”
Sir Keir is expected to speak to journalists later on Friday morning, where he will give his first on-camera reaction to the by-election loss.
Gorton and Denton has historically been considered to be a safe seat for Labour, and it was the party’s 38th safest seat in the 2024 general election.
The result in the Greater Manchester constituency is Labour’s seventh-worst by-election defeat in history.
One Labour MP told Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates that Sir Keir should resign following the loss, while a number of Labour backbenchers have publicly called for “change at the top”, either in the form of the PM’s departure or a change of direction.
Long-time critic of the Labour leader, Brian Leishman, Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, wrote on social media: “The blame lies with Starmer & the people that surround him.
“The political idea that we should try & out-Reform Reform is wrong and been rejected.
“Time he did the right thing for the country & the Labour Party, and go.”
Andy McDonald, Labour MP for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East, said: “It is the political approach of the prime minister, his former chief of staff and of Labour Together which has cost Labour this safe seat.
“The party must rip up their approach if Labour is to convince the public that the change they demand is going to be delivered.”
His colleague, Nadia Whittome, MP for Nottingham East, said it “is those running our party who are to blame” and that “serious lessons need to be learnt”.
But Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander defended the government, telling Sky News it was a “deeply disappointing” result, but adding: “I don’t think we should over-interpret this result.”
