News: 'Starmer on ropes' and 'nightmare for Labour' — news round-up

Coverage of the Gorton and Denton by-election dominates the weekend news, with front pages and party figures reacting to a Green Party upset that has prompted recriminations and demands. The result, the tone of victory speeches and claims of cheating have produced an unusually wide set of responses from papers and politicians.

News front pages and reaction

carried the line "Green delight sparks nightmare for Labour" and said the "scale of the defeat in an area that had returned Labour MPs for nearly a century" has plunged ministers and MPs into "renewed despair". The i's weekend edition said Sir Keir Starmer is now under "intense pressure to shift his party to the left or resign". A cabinet ally told the FT Weekend that the prime minister will "definitely fight on", and said Labour should stick to its economic plan and not plunge into a divisive "left versus right leadership battle".

The Daily Telegraph warned that "Sir Keir's already fragile control of his party is threatened again". The Times said the "government's total lack of a compelling, upbeat story on the economy has opened the door to the politics of despair and envy". The Daily Mirror said "voters sent a message Labour cannot afford to shrug off". The Sun said "Britain now has genuine five-party politics" and that it will be "harder than ever for any single party to win a majority at the next general election".

The Daily Mail said the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, has demanded action after poll monitors raised concerns about "family voting fraud" in the by-election. The Daily Star highlighted that the new Green MP is a plasterer and ran a front-page picture of Hannah Spencer at work with the headline "Plaster La Vista Starmer". The Daily Express featured a story that a statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square had been defaced with graffiti; a man was arrested yesterday on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage and supporting the proscribed group Palestine Action, under the front-page headline "How dare you!".

Other headlines on the site ranged widely: "Trump says Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead after US-Israeli strikes"; "What we know so far: Supreme Leader Khamenei killed, Trump says, as Iran launches retaliatory strikes"; "Luxury Dubai hotel hit as Iran launches retaliatory strikes across region"; "Polanski and Farage don't agree. But they have more in common than you might think"; "Six things to look out for in tonight's Brit Awards ceremony"; "First full Moon of spring set to rise in UK skies this week"; "Inside the £3. 25m castle bought by Celebrity Traitors winner Alan Carr"; "Resident Evil Requiem's director on redefining the survival horror genre"; "'It feels like my brain is trying to be the class clown' - the reality of Tourette's"; "Formula 1's new golden age of celebrity may have just begun"; "Captured off guard: The art of the snatched backseat car photo"; "US Politics Unspun: Cut through the noise with Anthony's Zurcher's newsletter"; and "Celebrating 200 years of the modern railway".

Gorton and Denton result

The Greens won the Gorton and Denton by-election with 40% of the vote, finishing 4, 400 votes ahead of Reform UK. They overturned Labour's 13, 000 majority with a 26 percentage point swing. The party had been third in the seat at the 2024 General Election and this was only the 18th time in 100 years that a party had come from third to take a seat. The outcome was described as "absolutely mega" and a "seismic by-election victory".

Hannah Spencer's victory speech

Hannah Spencer delivered a low-key, down-to-earth victory speech. She said she had never considered herself a politician, that she was a plumber who had recently qualified as a plasterer, and that if things did not work out in politics she would still have a job for life. She spoke of pride in being a working-class woman from the constituency, of understanding how hard the cost of living crisis is for everyone, and of valuing neighbours who look out for one another. She argued multiculturalism had defeated the toxic politics of the right. A note sent to journalists invited them to the first press conference of Hannah Spencer MP and to stay on for her first constituency surgery; the party then made the most of the moment at a wedding venue chosen for the news conference, despite a sea of empty chairs and only a smattering of supporters.

Her speech also included wry remarks about Westminster: "the toilets there are in a shocking state and the buildings are falling to pieces, " and commentators noted her expected swearing-in on Monday. One piece suggested she might have had 24 hours to write the speech.

Reform reaction and accusations

Reform's candidate Matt Goodwin reacted angrily. He looked "absolutely furious" and accused the Greens of sectarianism and cheating in Gorton and Denton. He had told supporters he believed it was his divine right to win. Criticism of his remarks included references to comments that anyone who was black or brown was not properly British, which the coverage said had upset the 40% of the constituency who were black or brown, and to a suggestion he made that white girls should leave school and have babies rather than get jobs, which angered women. Nigel Farage made similar remarks from a distance and, coverage, could not get too close to Matt's failure; Farage has demanded action after poll monitors raised concerns about "family voting fraud". Police have confirmed a report has been made over 'family voting' claims.

One commentary noted that Angeliki Stogia fled, that "Keir was tin-eared and Kemi brought the comedy, " and that Matt Goodwin had become a figure to be "tucked away in the deep freeze until such time as he became a Useful Idiot again" or left there permanently — the exact future of his role was described as a decision for later.

Polanski surge and Labour pressure

Zack Polanski and his team have been credited with positioning the Greens firmly on Labour's left and proving the "Polanski surge" is real. The result prompted the argument that the Greens can beat Reform in working-class Britain. The outcome was described as a "nightmare for Labour", leaving the party fighting on two fronts. Starmer's campaign had asserted only Labour could beat Reform, but the by-election result was presented as evidence that claim was wrong. Starmer's stony face as he addressed the country on Friday was noted; in the hours after the result recriminations began. Angela Rayner, the former deputy leader, called the result a "wake-up call" and said the party needed to be "braver", a sentiment that coverage suggested echoed what many Labour MPs think: that Labour needs to move more to the left.

Recriminations and demands for action followed a result that combined an unexpected Green triumph, accusations of cheating, and sharp responses from established figures across the political spectrum.