Sheffield Labour councillor calls for Starmer to go – “Too many mistakes have been made”
A Sheffield councillor has called for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to resign following a key by-election result that saw Labour come third.
Coun Minesh Parekh, who represents Crookes and Crosspool ward for Labour and Co-operative, took to social media following Labour’s defeat at the Gorton and Denton by-election in Manchester last week.
Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer won by a margin of more than 4,400 votes over a Reform UK candidate. Labour were pushed into third place.
Coun Parekh said on Facebook: “Labour have come third in a seat we have represented for the best part of a hundred years. This is the clearest rejection of the leadership yet – of its rightward turn, smear campaigns during the election, and of its spiteful blocking of Burnham.
“Starmer must resign or be removed today, or else risk our permanent collapse.”
Mistakes
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I’m sorry to have to say it, but the government needs a wake-up call. We were elected on a manifesto to deliver real change, and people are right to expect more from us.
“Too many mistakes have been made – the winter fuel allowance, attempted benefits cuts, mandatory digital ID cards, and so on – that were not in our manifesto and have overshadowed much of the good the government has done.
“Keir Starmer’s judgement, as exemplified by his appointment of Peter Mandelson despite his links to Jeffrey Epstein being well known, has been shown to be poor.
“If we are to have any chance at salvaging this government and dealing the change people voted for, then he should put the country first and resign.”