Sir Keir Starmer faces a mutiny from Labour MPs after Reform’s overwhelming victory in last week’s local elections.
He vowed to go “further and faster” after Labour lost the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, and nearly two thirds of the council seats it was defending. But this has worried many Labour MPs, who will return to Westminster today for the first time since the vote.
Former Transport Secretary Louise Haigh says this response is “alarming”. She said: “It failed to acknowledge any need to change course but simply committed itself to double down on the plan, whilst haemorrhaging votes to the parties of our left and right.” And she warned that cuts to winter fuel payments and disability benefits had made Labour unpopular.
Labour MP Dan Carden warned: “It was the working class that turned its back on Labour last Thursday. They understand that the present system is not working in their interests or for their values. People feel abandoned – not just economically, but morally.”
And fellow Labour MP Emma Lewell said: “Strong governments admit mistakes and change.”
But whether Keir Starmer will listen remains to be seen.
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