Keir Starmer has vowed to “keep on fighting” despite Labour’s humiliating defeat in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
The British prime minister faces intense pressure to shift his party to the left or resign after Labour came third behind Zack Polanski’s Greens and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the previously rock-solid Greater Manchester constituency.
But speaking to reporters, he acknowledged it was a “disappointing” result and that voters were “frustrated”, but insisted he would carry on.
Asked if he had considered resigning, Starmer said: “I came into politics late in life to fight for change for those people who need it.
“I will keep on fighting for those people for as long as I’ve got breath in my body.”
Starmer also pledged to “fight against extremes in politics” on both the left and the right that threatened to “tear our country apart”.
Thursday’s by-election saw Hannah Spencer, a councillor and plumber, emerged victorious for the Greens with 14,980 votes – a majority of 4,402.
Labour MPs, unions and campaign groups have demanded a change of course from Starmer ahead of crucial elections in May, with warnings his days in No 10 could be numbered unless the party’s fortunes improve.
Former Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said the result should be a “wake-up call” for the party, calling for her colleagues to “be braver” and “rededicate” themselves to “a Labour agenda that puts people first”.