‘Weak’ - Kate Osborne slams Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer over by-election defeat
The Jarrow and Gateshead East MP has hit out at the Prime Minister.
Following Labour’s humiliating defeat in the Gorton and Denton by-election, Kate Osborne MP has branded Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as “weak”.
The Prime Minister is facing increasing pressure to shift his party to the left or resign after Labour came third behind Zack Polanski’s Greens and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in what has previously been a Labour stronghold constituency.
Ms Osborne, the MP for Jarrow and Gateshead East MP, has stated that the Prime Minister’s policies are fully to blame for the party’s defeat in Greater Manchester.
She commented: “Blame for Labour’s defeat in Gorton and Denton sits with Keir Starmer and those running our party.
“Starmer personally leading the intervention at the NEC officers meeting to block Burnham was not only obviously a huge error but also showed just how weak he is.
“Ultimately it is his Labour’s policies and campaigning that lost us this seat, from his policies on pensions, winter fuel, welfare cuts to immigration - nationally we are not getting it right and we are letting the country down.
“The negative campaigning was appalling, with what is seemingly a Labour attack van using awful rhetoric around women, sex workers and drug use policies - we need to know who signed that off.
“Apart from being appalling, that type of negative campaigning always backfires.
“We should be talking about what we can do and our priorities.”
Ms Osborne also joined many others within the Labour Party and called on the Prime Minister to return to policies that show “Labour values”.
She added: “Some of us were pointing out the polling more than a year ago that show we were losing more voters to the Greens than to Reform.
“Instead of listening, those at the top of our party chose to carry on with their attempts to out ‘reform’ Reform on immigration, plans to cut welfare and put their factionalism ahead of the country and party.
“We must urgently change direction and return to policies that show our true Labour values, the deliver for communities and bring hope to many.”
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