Sir Keir Starmer is under mounting pressure from within his ranks after last week’s local election results sparked fears that Labour is losing its grip on the working-class vote it’s long relied on.
Liverpool Walton MP Dan Carden didn’t mince his words, warning that Labour is at a “life or death” crossroads. His stark message came in the wake of what’s now being called a “Reform-quake,” as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK stormed through Labour territory, snatching hundreds of council seats, two mayoralties, and even clinching the once-safe Labour seat of Runcorn and Helsby by just six votes, reported GB News.
Writing in The Mail on Sunday, Carden said: “It was the working class that turned its back on Labour last Thursday. They understand that the present system is not working in their interests. People feel abandoned… They look at Westminster and see strangers in charge.”
The alarm bells are ringing louder with the release of a new Mail on Sunday poll, showing a majority of voters — 63 per cent — now expect Farage to become the next Prime Minister. That’s more than double the 31 per cent backing Starmer. Just 6 per cent think Kemi Badenoch could lead the Tories back to power.
The same poll showed 71 per cent believe Labour should ditch Starmer, and 70 per cent say the same about Badenoch. It’s a clear sign the public is losing patience with both main parties, and Reform is quickly filling the void.
Inside Labour, frustration is bubbling over. Backbenchers are fed up with what they see as the party’s obsession with net-zero policies and its slow response to immigration concerns — both areas Farage has pounced on. Former PM Tony Blair’s critique didn’t go unnoticed either. His warning that voters won’t accept lifestyle changes for minimal climate impact echoed loudly, and 72 per cent of voters seem to agree.
MP Jo White, who chairs Labour’s Red Wall group, didn’t hold back either. “Labour needs a reset,” she said, adding that Starmer should take a more instinctive, decisive approach. “He should take a leaf out of President Trump’s book by following his instincts and issuing some executive orders.”
White also warned that the move to cut winter fuel payments for over 10 million pensioners could become Labour’s “poll tax problem.”
Meanwhile, Farage has seized the moment, declaring the end of two-party politics and vowing to roll out bold, Trump-style reforms. In a fiery speech, he warned Starmer lacked the backbone to address immigration and aimed at council workers in climate and diversity roles, suggesting they find “alternative careers.”
Sir Keir, in response, struck a humble tone, admitting, “I get it,” and promising to speed up efforts to deliver the change people are “crying out for.” Whether that’s enough to win them back remains to be seen.
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