Keir Starmer: the impressive victory for the Greens, with Labour pushed into third place behind Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, can only be seen as a disaster for the UK prime minister. Yet its taunt on Friday morning that a crucial byelection result suggests Keir Starmer has “killed” the Labour Party may not be as outlandish as it sounds for the embattled UK prime minister. Much of his internal political danger lies in the fact that Labour’s defeat in Gorton and Denton was partially self-inflicted – by him. Andy Burnham, the popular mayor of Greater Manchester, wanted to contest the byelection but he was blocked by Starmer and his allies. Yet its nature suggested that Labour’s candidate, Angeliki Stogia, who was backed by Bangladeshi power brokers, might struggle to win the same level of support from Kashmiris.

Source: The Irish Times February 27, 2026 15:55 UTC