Sir Keir Starmer vows he won't step down after Labour's humiliating by-election defeat

Sir Keir Starmer appeared far from pleased hours after Labour’s by-election loss (Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)

Sir Keir Starmer insisted he will not resign following Labour’s ‘very disappointing’ Gorton and Denton by-election loss in Manchester.

The Green Party have made British history this morning after Hannah Spencer snatched the Gorton and Denton by-election seat from Labour when she won 14,980 votes.

Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin came second with 10,578 votes,Labour’s Angeliki Stogia came third with 9,364 votes.

The Prime Minister admitted that the defeat was ‘very disappointing,’ but he said he understood voters are ‘frustrated’ and ‘impatient for change.’

Green Party’s Hannah Spencer (L) stands alongside Labour Party’s Angeliki Stogia,who came in third in the hotly contested race (Picture: Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)

When asked if he had considered resigning while he visited local party members in London this morning,Sir Keir said he would ‘keep fighting’ for people.

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Metro's senior politics reporter Craig Munro breaks down all the chaos into easy to follow insight,in Metro's politics newsletter Alright,Gov? Sent every Wednesday. Sign up here.Other high-profile Labour figures weighed in on Labour’s ‘clearly disappointing’ loss.Labour’s former deputy leader Angela Rayner,who has been fending off rumours that she wants to become the party’s leader,said on X: ‘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 agenda that puts people first.‘That’s what all of us across our movement need to rededicate ourselves to this morning.’Labour’s chairwoman Anna Turley said: ‘This result is clearly disappointing. By-elections are normally difficult for the party of government,and this election was no different.‘We have had thousands of conversations over the last few weeks and we know the majority of voters here did not want the poisonous politics of Nigel Farage and Reform.‘We will continue to deliver a programme for government that tackles the cost of living crisis families are facing,creates opportunities for young people and invests in our public services.‘The politics of anger and easy answers offered by the Greens and Reform won’t deliver this.Angela Rayner said the by-election defeat is a ‘wake-up call’ (Picture: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)‘We will move forwards with a relentless focus on delivering the renewal communities across Britain want to see.’Voices calling for Sir Keir Starmer to step down as Prime Minister have grown louder following the result.Meanwhile,some betting firms have predicted odds that Sir Keir could resign as early as next week. Betting company AceOdds said it predicted odds of 4/5 that the PM will step down before March 6.Labour-affiliated TSSA union’s general secretary,Maryam Eslamdoust,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.‘However,a simple change in leader will not be enough. Labour must rediscover its radical soul and start to deliver for the British public by extending public ownership of key industries like water,energy,and mail,as well as substantially increasing the minimum wage for all workers.’Labour Party Deputy Leader Lucy Powell is interviewed during the vote count for the Gorton and Denton by-election in Manchester (Picture: EPA)The Green Party said the PM is ‘clearly coming to the end of his premiership,one that he has barely been clinging to.’Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell admitted the Greens had won the ‘argument that they were best placed’ to keep Reform UK out of Gorton and Denton about an hour before the result was called.‘I wanted Angeliki Stogia to be my colleague in Parliament,’ she told Sky News.‘But I think what is really clear is that there is a big majority in this constituency that hasn’t voted for Reform. And on the day the Greens have managed to win that argument that they were best placed to do that.‘But I’m not sure whether that would totally translate in a general election.’She added that ‘parties of government too often lose by-elections midterm like this’ and that ‘at the next general election,the choice across the country,not just in one constituency,will be between a Reform government or a Labour government,and I think that will focus people’s minds in a different way.’Votes are counted for the Gorton and Denton by-election at Manchester Central (Picture: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)‘We’ve got to,of course,take stock,as we always do,and show humility and that we are hearing what people are saying.’But Ms Powell insisted ‘there is no leadership contest’ and that Sir Keir was determined to ‘show our labour values more strongly’.Sir Keir’s decision to block potential leadership rival Andy Burnham from running will also likely face renewed scrutiny.Labour won Gorton and Denton in 2024 with more than half the vote. The contest was triggered by former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne standing down for health reasons.Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at .