Salford MP Rebecca Long-Bailey has launched a fierce criticism of Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership following Labour’s local election losses, saying the party has drifted away from ordinary working people.
In a detailed statement shared online following last week’s elections, the Salford MP said the results were “among the worst in our history” and blamed national leadership decisions for councillors losing their seats.
She wrote: “Last week’s local election results were among the worst in our history. Hard-working Salford Labour councillors lost their seats because of national decisions, and responsibility for that lies with Keir Starmer’s leadership.”
Long-Bailey said many former Labour supporters no longer feel represented by the party.
“Many former Labour voters now feel our party is no longer on their side,” she said.
“Too many people now look at the party and see leaders more comfortable courting billionaires than standing shoulder to shoulder with working people. They see a party terrified of upsetting the wealthy while ordinary families are pushed to breaking point.”
The MP also pointed to a series of national policy decisions which she said had alienated voters.
“And people feel betrayed. They felt it when winter fuel support was cut. They felt it when we dragged our feet over scrapping the cruel two-child cap. They felt it when disabled people were once again made to feel like a burden instead of human beings deserving dignity.
“And people are rightly angry. That anger drove some toward Reform. Heartbreak for compassionate politics drove others toward the Greens.”
Long-Bailey went on to call for a change in direction at the top of the Labour Party.
“But underneath it all is the same cry: ‘Labour should be fighting for us.’
“It is clear that Keir must end this chaos and now set out a reasonable timetable for an orderly transition to a new leader. We need a calm, open, contest that allows the party to debate what has gone wrong, how we win back trust, and the policies needed to transform people’s lives.”
She added: “That contest must allow the full range of candidates to stand, without exclusions or factional manoeuvring.”
The Salford MP said Labour now needed to return to what she described as “real Labour values”.
“We must stand for real Labour values once again. A party that demands unapologetically that ordinary people deserve better, that they deserve power over the forces that shape their lives.
“Not scraps.
“Not charity.
“Not managed decline dressed up as ‘fiscal responsibility.’
“Real Power.”
Rebecca Long-Bailey has represented Salford and Eccles since 2015 and previously stood for the Labour leadership in 2020. Her comments are likely to increase pressure on the party leadership following Labour’s difficult local election results across several parts of the country.
