Keir Starmer faces huge Labour backlash after Runcorn loss as MPs vent fury

Keir Starmer has come under fire from disgruntled Labour MPs after Reform UK's victory in the his first by-election test.

Panicked MPs called on him to change course, while a re-elected mayor accused him of not listening to unhappy voters. The Runcorn and Helsby result, which saw Reform scrape through with a majority of six, was a hammer blow to Mr Starmer.

securied nearly 10,000 fewer votes in the constituency than it did a year ago. The result has sparked warnings that the next could be devastating, and MPs were quick to publicly challenge their leader.

Brian Leishman wrote on /X that the first months of the new Government "haven't been good enough". He fumed: "Runcorn shows Labour must change course. People voted for real change last July & an end to austerity. The first 10 months haven’t been good enough or what the people want & if we don’t improve people’s living standards then the next government will be an extreme right wing one."

Veteran posted: "Labour leadership seems to think that the answer to these catastrophic election results is more of the same, including cuts to winter fuel payments."

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Left wing Labour MP Richard Burgon wrote that the Runcorn defeat was "entirely avoidable" and was "the direct result of the party leadership’s political choices". He said: "By pushing policies like cuts to disability benefits and scrapping the winter fuel allowance, the leadership is driving away our own voters — and letting Reform squeeze through.

"The Labour leadership must urgently change course and govern with real Labour values to deliver the change people are crying out for. It should start by ditching the plans to cut disability benefits and increase taxes on the wealthiest instead. If it fails to deliver that real change, things could get far worse, with Reform waiting in the wings. And the consequences of that would be horrific for those our Party exists to represent."

In a statement, Labour HQ said by-elections are "always difficult" for the party in Government, adding: "Voters are still rightly furious with the state of the country after 14 years of failure and clearly expect the Government to move faster with the Plan for Change."

Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, who was suspended from Labour last year after rebelling over the two-child benefit cap, wrote: "Tin eared response from Labour spokespeople to election results so far. Labour supporters feel Labour, their party, has turned its back on them citing Winter Fuel Allowance, NI tax on jobs & threat of disability cuts.

"Message to ministers is drop the plans to attack disabled." The attacks come after Ros Jones, the mayor of Doncaster, warned the Prime Minister "needs to listen" to voters. Moments after she won with a majority of just 698 over Reform, she told the : "I think national government needs to look and see what people are saying."

She continued: "I wrote as soon as the winter fuel allowance was actually mooted, and I said it was wrong, and therefore I stepped in immediately and used our household support fund to ensure no-one in Doncaster went cold during the winter." And Ms Jones continued: "I think the results here tonight demonstrate that they need to be listening to the man, woman and businesses on the street and actually deliver for the people, with the people."

Pressed whether Mr Starmer had been listening she said: "On certainly two or three occasions, I would say no they haven't actually realised because people in Doncaster know how life can be.

"They need to look again because actually putting up the cost of national insurance is hitting some of our business. And of course, PIP (Personal Independence Payments), which we know many people are worried about."

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