‘Wake up and listen’.
Following the Labour Party’s defeat in the Gorton and Denton by-election, a number of trade unions have given their reaction, calling on the party to change course.
The Green Party won the by-election, with Labour coming third in the tightly contested race, 5,616 votes behind the Greens on 14,980 votes, while Reform UK finished second with 10,578 votes. The result represents a 25.3% drop in Labour’s vote compared to 2024.
Reacting to the party’s defeat, Unite, have called on the government to ‘wake up and listen’.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “If Labour needed any further wake up calls – this is clearly one. Labour need to now ditch the gimmicks and get back to being Labour – not new, not one that plays games, but real Labour.
“Workers and families are hurting. We have a cost of living crisis largely being ignored and investment in jobs for the here-and-now being blocked by a Treasury that doesn’t seem to understand the basics of what is needed to build Britain.
“Stop listening your rich mates and start listening to everyday people.”
UNISON called on the government to stand up for workers and defend ‘fundamental values’.
UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan said: “The Greens won for a simple reason. Many traditional Labour supporters, in Manchester and across the country, want to see progressive values robustly defended against the far-right, not gleefully abandoned.
“A Labour government should be standing up for workers, defending migrants and refugees, and taking the fight to Nigel Farage rather than letting him set the agenda.”
Egan went on to add: “If the government wants to survive, it urgently needs to stand up for workers and defend our fundamental values.”
The head of the Fire Brigades Union, Steve Wright, says “Labour’s entire strategy of framing politics as “it’s us v Reform” is in tatters.
He said: “The party’s traditional core vote is collapsing before our eyes. This result represents a halving of the vote compared to 2024. That should set alarm bells ringing across the labour movement.
“If the government does not change course immediately, it will face heavy losses in the May elections, and at that point, the political consequences for Keir Starmer will become unavoidable. The game will be up unless there is a decisive shift in direction.
“The Labour Party needs to listen to the people, not Parliament. It needs to listen to its members and affiliated unions, not corporate lobbyists.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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