John Curtice issues nightmare verdict for Keir Starmer after by-election ‘surprise’ | Politics | News
Labor’s byelection losses in Gorton and Denton will “make Keir Starmer’s life worse”, a leading pollster has warned. Professor Sir John Curtice said the result was a surprise because of the scale of the Green Party’s victory.
Hannah Spencer received 14,980 votes, Reform UK came second with 10,578 votes, and Labor came third with 9,364 votes. Sir John told the BBC: “There was a surprise in the end, and the surprise was the size of the Greens’ victory.
“They actually managed to get around 41% of the votes cast in this constituency, they have a 12 point lead over Reform.
“So instead of having such a narrow contest, we thought maybe someone could win with a relatively low share of the vote, the Greens well and truly won this constituency and got the kind of vote share that we think has become difficult in our fragmented politics.
“The truth is that the Greens should be congratulated on this outstanding performance.
“This of course makes Keir Starmer’s life worse.
“It’s not just that Labor lost, they lost badly, they’re 15 points behind the Greens, with Labor in third place.
*** Ensure our latest policy headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings. ***
“I think we may have heard something from the Labor deputy leader to the effect that the Greens cannot pose such a big threat to Labor more broadly beyond this constituency, I think it will be time for Labor to rethink that because the Greens have at least shown a remarkable ability to capture a significant part of the constituency here.”
Labor leader Anna Turley described the result as “clearly disappointing”.
He said: “By-elections are normally difficult for the ruling party and this election was no different.”
He added that the “politics of anger and easy answers offered by the Greens and Reform” would not tackle the cost of living crisis, create opportunities for young people or invest in public services.
