British PM Starmer faces latest test in tight local election

MANCHESTER – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces a big test on Feb 26 when voters in Manchester cast their ballots for a new lawmaker

in an election

polls say is too close to call between the leader’s Labour Party, populist Reform UK and the left-leaning Greens.

The vote in Gorton and Denton, in north-western England’s Greater Manchester, is the latest challenge for Mr Starmer after his judgment came into question over several policy U-turns and the

appointment of Labour veteran Peter Mandelson

as ambassador to Washington.

Making a surprise appearance in the area on Feb 23, Mr Starmer and his team have tried to ram home the message that the so-called by-election is a simple choice between Labour and Reform, which is led by Brexit figurehead Nigel Farage.

They have repeatedly said a vote for the Greens, which could steal votes with its left-leaning policies on tackling the cost of living and its support for Gaza, is “a vote for Reform”.

Election follows series of missteps

The choice “could not be more stark”, Mr Starmer said in a statement ahead of the vote. “Driving down the cost of living with Labour or driving a wedge between communities under Reform. Moving forwards together, or opening up anger and division that holds our country back.”

Labour won the seat easily in its

landslide general election victory

in 2024, but the incumbent lawmaker said in February he would step down.

With polls suggesting that the three parties will win around the same vote share, the ballot is the first electoral test for Mr Starmer since he came under fire for appointing Mr Mandelson, a man whose

close ties to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein

have come into full focus, to Britain’s most prominent ambassadorial post.

Mr Mandelson denies any wrongdoing.

That appointment added to a list of missteps and policy U-turns that have not only raised questions over Mr Starmer’s judgment but also triggered some in his party to call for his resignation.

The 63-year-old has vowed to fight on, but in what could be an added disadvantage in Gorton and Denton, he was blamed in January for blocking popular Manchester mayor, Mr Andy Burnham, from becoming Labour’s candidate in the area.

Instead, Labour put forward Ms Angeliki Stogia, a local councillor, to run against Reform’s Mr Matt Goodwin, an academic and author, and the Green Party’s Ms Hannah Spencer, another local councillor, in a campaign marked by accusations of foul play.

Losing the by-election in areas which have returned Labour politicians to Westminster for generations would be another blow for Mr Starmer, especially if the Greens win.

But it might not be fatal, Labour lawmakers say. They instead point to May as the major test, when local elections for several English councils and the Welsh and Scottish assemblies take place. REUTERS