Did Sir Keir Starmer think about resigning after Labour’s loss in the Gorton and Denton by-election?

Labour MP Clive Lewis called Labour’s loss in the Gorton and Denton by-election as a “punch in the face. He told PA that:“The by-election result is a punch in the face for the Labour Party and for Keir Starmer’s premiership.

“This Government has burned its base, alienated its core vote, sidelined its activists and stuck two fingers up to the very people we came into politics to represent – and we’re surprised voters are walking away?

“Changing the leader without changing the politics would be a waste of time.

“The problem isn’t presentation. It’s direction. We promised change and delivered continuity. We talk tough but govern timid. We protect vested interests when we should be taking them on.

“Reform is growing because millions feel ignored and taken for granted. If we don’t offer real change, they’ll channel their anger elsewhere, as they have this week in Denton and Gorton.

“Stopping Reform now has to be the priority. But Labour can’t do that from a position of arrogance or denial. We will need to work with other progressive parties. That means cooperation. It means democratic reform. It means accepting we do not own the centre-left vote.

“None of that happens unless Labour changes fundamentally. Not tweaks. Not reshuffles. A clean break.

“If we carry on like this, we won’t just lose by-elections. We’ll lose the country for a generation.”

Newly elected Green Party MP Hannah Spencer said in her press conference after her victory that “I don’t want to dwell on it for too long, but I have been appalled at some of the divisive, dog-whistling campaigning from other parties.

“I know in my heart, and everyone knows here, everybody here belongs.

“Everybody deserves to have their needs met. Everyone deserves a voice in our democracy.”

Sir Keir Starmer has now responded to Labour’s loss and said: “It’s a very disappointing result.

“Incumbent governments quite often get results like that mid-term, but I do understand that voters are frustrated. They’re impatient for change.”

“And I came into politics late in life, as it happens, to fight for change for those people who need it, the people who need an NHS that works for them, to be able to get a doctor’s appointment when they need it, to get the money they need in their pockets to pay their bills and to have a decent and better life.

“And I will keep on fighting for those people for as long as I’ve got breath in my body.

“I will also fight against the extremes in politics on the right and the left parties who want to tear our country apart.”

Angela Rayner took to X and wrote: “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.”