Sir Keir Starmer has admitted his disappointment after Nigel Farage hailed Reform’s bombshell by-election victory over Labour in Runcorn and Helsby.
The Reform UK leader was celebrating “a big moment” on Friday morning as his party gained a new MP and made significant gains at councils across England in the local elections.
The result in Runcorn and Helsby was declared at 6am and followed a recount after only a handful of votes separated the two parties.
It saw a 17% swing from Labour to Reform’s new MP Sarah Pochin and means Mr Farage’s party has inflicted defeat on the governing party in the first by-election test for the Prime Minister since he was elected in a landslide last July.
Reform’s victory, by just six votes in the end, was the smallest ever margin in a parliamentary by-election in the country's history.
Speaking to reporters during a visit to Bedfordshire on Friday, Sir Keir said the result was "disappointing" and insisted he was determined to go "further and faster" in delivering change.
In a message to voters, the Prime Minister added that his party "get it".
"What I want to say is, my response is we get it,” he said. "We were elected last year to bring about change."
Sir Keir added that his party has "started that work", such as bringing in measures to cut NHS waiting lists, adding: "I am determined that we will go further and faster on the change that people want to see."
The parliamentary result came as Reform also made gains against both Labour and the Conservatives across England in local votes, with Farage claiming a "big moment" was taking place in UK politics.
Mr Farage stressed: “For the movement, for the party, it's a very, very big moment indeed, absolutely, no question, and it's happening right across England.”
He added: "We've dug very deep into the Labour vote and, in other parts of England, we've dug deep into the Conservative vote.”
“In most of the country, we are now the main opposition party to this Government," he claimed.
In her speech after winning the seat, Reform’s Sarah Pochin said voters had made clear "enough is enough".
"Our victory...will inspire the rest of the country to believe that they too can stand up for fairness, for what is right and for our British values," she added.
Labour said by-elections are "always difficult for the party in Government" and the events surrounding the Runcorn and Helsby vote made it "even harder".
It was a hugely dramatic result in a seat which Labour held with a majority of 14,696 in the 2024 general election.
The by-election was triggered when former Labour MP Mike Amesbury quit after admitting punching a constituent.
Ms Pochin won it with 12,645 votes, six more than Labour’s Karen Shore.
Runcorn and Helsby by-election result
Sarah Pochin (Reform) 12,645 (38.72%, +20.58%)
Karen Shore (Lab) 12,639 (38.70%, -14.23%)
Sean Houlston (C) 2,341 (7.17%, -8.83%)
Chris Copeman (Green) 2,314 (7.09%, +0.66%)
Paul Duffy (LD) 942 (2.88%, -2.20%)
Dan Clarke (Lib) 454 (1.39%, +0.26%)
Michael Williams (Ind) 363 (1.11%)
Alan McKie (Ind) 269 (0.82%)
Peter Ford (WPB) 164 (0.50%)
John Stevens (Rejoin) 129 (0.40%)
Howling Laud Hope (Loony) 128 (0.39%)
Catherine Blaiklock (Eng Dem) 95 (0.29%)
Paul Murphy (Soc Dem) 68 (0.21%, -0.07%)
Jason Hughes (Volt) 54 (0.17%)
Graham Moore (ECP) 50 (0.15%)
Reform maj 6 (0.02%)
17.41% swing Lab to Reform
Electorate 70,621; Turnout 32,655 (46.24%, -13.57%)
Reform's Dame Andrea Jenkyns, a former Conservative minister, won the first ever Greater Lincolnshire mayoral race.
But Labour held the West of England mayoralty, with Helen Godwin beating Reform's Arron Banks by 5,945 votes.
The party also held the North Tyneside mayoralty, although with a majority of just 444 ahead of Reform.
Doncaster's Labour mayor Ros Jones was re-elected with a majority of 698 after a battle with Reform.
But she hit out at the Prime Minister's administration, criticising decisions to means-test the winter fuel allowance, hike employers' national insurance contributions and squeeze welfare.
The Tories, in Kemi Badenoch's first electoral test as leader, were also suffering at the hands of Reform and could also be squeezed by the Liberal Democrats.
Reform look set to take control of Staffordshire County Council after taking 24 of the 30 seats to be counted overnight, with Conservatives winning the other six.
It means when counting resumes later on Friday, Reform need to win just eight more seats to have a majority on the council.
Reform also remained on track to take control of Lincolnshire County Council, after winning 19 of the first 25 seats to be declared, with Labour on three, Liberal Democrats two and Conservatives one.
The party needed another 17 seats from the 45 still to be declared to gain a majority on a council which was previously run by the Conservatives with 54 seats.
In Northumberland, Reform gained 23 seats on the council, with Labour down 10, and the Conservatives losing seven.
"Reform are in business. They are a major challenge,” said polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice, of Strathclyde University.
Shadow communities secretary Kevin Hollinrake acknowledged the party was on course to lose around 500 councillors.
He told the BBC: "We thought we'd lose half our seats."
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: "We are expecting to see big gains against the Conservatives in their former Middle England heartlands."
The Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer stressed: "We are taking seats from both the Conservatives and Labour up and down the country as voters, understandably, move away from the tired old parties.”
