Starmer: ‘Labour must go further and faster to deliver after Runcorn defeat’

Keir Starmer has described Labour’s by-election loss in Runcorn and Helsby and in council seats across England as “disappointing”, and that the government must go “further and faster” in delivering change.

At a visit to a defence contractor in Bedfordshire, the Prime Minister and Labour leader told the BBC that the results sent the government the message that they need to go “further and faster on the change that people want to see”.

While Labour have held three mayoral positions, the party has lost more than a dozen council seats so far, including ten in Northumberland.

READ MORE: Council by council Labour gains and losses – and its position in each mayor race

Starmer told the BBC’s Leila Nathoo: “I could stand here and say Runcorn was close, we successfully defended three mayoralties and that opposition parties tend to do well in these sorts of elections, but I’m not going to do that. What I am going to do is to respond by saying I get it.

“We were elected in to deliver change, we’ve started that change – waiting lists are down, wages are up, interest rates are down, but the message I take out of these elections is we need to go further and we need to go faster on the change that people want to see. That is what I am determined to do.”

Scroll to keep reading the story below….

READ MORE: ‘Results so far say one thing: voters think change isn’t coming fast enough’

Subscribe here to our daily newsletter roundup of all things Labour – and follow us on  Bluesky, WhatsApp, Threads, X or Facebook.

Labour lost the Runcorn and Helsby by-election to Reform by just six votes, with one of the closest parliamentary by-elections in history going to a recount and Reform’s swing exceeding national polls.

The first drip of council results early on Friday also looked alarming for both the Conservatives and Labour, with the Tories down 50 seats and Labour down 13 as of 11.30am.

Labour lost a dozen seats in Northumberland, where it was the largest party in the 2000s, finishing a distant third behind Reform and the Tories, who narrowly remain the biggest party.

But the first three major sets of results fully declared all saw Labour edge tight victories to hold on, with Reform finishing second in three mayoralties – North Tyneside, West of England and then Doncaster.

READ MORE: ‘If election results are grim, let’s not learn the wrong lessons again’

In Doncaster, Labour’s Ros Jones was re-elected for a fourth time, but only by around 700 votes to Reform.

In North Tyneside, Karen Clark held it for Labour but with only 32.4% of the vote to Reform’s  29.4%. Labour’s vote tally more than halved, however, from 33,119 for Clark’s outgoing predecessor in 2021 to just 16,230 this time round.

In the West of England, Labour’s Helen Godwin secured a majority of less than 6,000 votes over Arron Banks, with 25% of the vote to Reform’s 22.1%, It marked an unusual four-way contest, with the Greens third on 20% and Tories on 16.6%.

Read more on the 2025 local elections:

Results on the day

Analysis and what to expect

• Runcorn blame game begins – why did Labour lose?
• ‘Labour has lost in Runcorn – here are the eight things the party should do now‘
• MPs who could lose their seat on Runcorn by-election swing to Reform
• ‘Results so far say one thing: voters think change isn’t coming fast enough’
• Three ways to measure Labour’s success tonight
• Expert predicts ‘bad night’ with no net Labour gains
• ‘Uxbridgitis: If election results are grim, let’s not learn the wrong lessons again’
• Where’s Keir? PM barely features in Labour party election broadcasts for the locals
• The meme elections: Labour’s social media pivot to take fight to Farage

LabourList’s on-the-ground reports from the campaign

• Hull and East Yorkshire: Labour candidate spars with Reform’s boxing star in UK’s most disillusioned city
• Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Nik Johnson on why he’s standing down and Anna Smith on knife-edge Labour-Tory fight to replace him
• West of England: Tory and Green threats, Dan Norris and low voter awareness
• Lancashire: Long shadow of Gaza looms over key battleground

Inside the Runcorn campaign

• Mood on the doorstep: Labour’s last push for Tory voters to keep out Reform
• At least 150 Labour MPs visit – but Keir Starmer ain’t one
• Karen Shore interview: Labour candidate on Reform, the NHS and closing asylum hotels
• Runcorn poll: One in ten Labour voters expected to back Reform

• SHARE: If you have anything to share that we should be looking into or publishing about this story – or any other topic involving Labour– contact us (strictly anonymously if you wish) at [email protected].
• SUBSCRIBE: Sign up to LabourList’s morning email here for the best briefing on everything Labour, every weekday morning.
• DONATE: If you value our work, please chip in a few pounds a week and become one of our supporters, helping sustain and expand our coverage.
• PARTNER: If you or your organisation might be interested in partnering with us on sponsored events or projects, email [email protected].
• ADVERTISE: If your organisation would like to advertise or run sponsored pieces on LabourList‘s daily newsletter or website, contact our exclusive ad partners Total Politics at [email protected].