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Sir Keir boasted that his party \u201cblew the doors off\u201d in the Scottish contest, marking a \u201cbig step in the right direction\u201d on his path to Number 10.<\/p>\n
Labour\u2019s higher-than-expected 20.4 percentage point swing from the SNP led analysts to believe that it could return to being the largest party north of the border and open the door to Downing Street if it is replicated at the next national poll.<\/p>\n
But despite the win in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election, the Labour leader faced fresh ridicule over his policy \u201cflip-flops\u201d – most recently on HS2. Sir Keir has also been scaling back or abandoning a range of policies, including dropping a pledge to abolish tuition fees and delaying the full implementation of a \u00a328 billion green fund. He has also been muted on protecting the Triple Lock on pensions.<\/p>\n
Even Senior Labour figures are concerned that the party\u2019s chances in next year\u2019s national vote could be scuppered by Sir Keir.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: <\/strong> Top academic warns Labour’s victory over SNP ‘really not good news’ for Sunak<\/strong><\/p>\n Craig Tracey, vice-chairman of the Conservative Party, said: \u201cWe know from recent experience that by elections don\u2019t really translate to the results in future general elections.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is evident though is that there hasn\u2019t been any major shift to Labour in these elections, where the results have been based on low turnouts by Conservative voters rather than an increase in numbers coming over to support Labour.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was also true of last nights Rutherglen & Hamilton by election where they won with fewer votes than they lost to the SNP with in 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cStarmers message, whatever that may be, isn\u2019t cutting through and voters are not being fooled, meaning there is still everything to play for at the next General Election.\u201d<\/p>\n Fellow Tory Mark Jenkinson said: \u201cHe might be boasting today, but tomorrow he\u2019ll have changed his mind again anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n He said Labour\u2019s by-election result was largely due to a collapse in turnout and wouldn\u2019t be replicated on the national stage.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have seen a collapse in turnout in recent by-elections, such that they can\u2019t be taken as anything other than what they are – isolated wins for a party that has just quietly tried to drop from its website every policy it\u2019s launched over the last two and a half years,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Speaking at a victory rally alongside winning Labour candidate Michael Shanks, Sir Keir said: \u201cThey said that we couldn\u2019t change the Labour Party and we did it.<\/p>\n \u201cThey said that we couldn\u2019t win in the south of England and the north of England, and we did it. They said \u2018you\u2019ll never beat the SNP in Scotland\u2019 and Rutherglen, you did it. You blew the doors off!\u201d<\/p>\n Polls suggest that Labour has around a 17-point lead over the Tories.<\/p>\n Labour candidate Mr Shanks secured 17,845 votes, well ahead of the 8,399 votes returned for his closest rival, the SNP\u2019s Katy Loudon.<\/p>\n With Mr Shanks, Labour has two MPs in Scotland \u2013 far off its peak of more than 40 in 2010 before its representation collapsed after the 2014 independence referendum.<\/p>\n But the result is being seen as a change in the Scottish political weather and a path to a Labour majority in the House of Commons.<\/p>\n We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> It confirms Labour poses \u201ca serious challenge\u201d to the SNP\u2019s primacy at Westminster and has a momentum comparable with the run-up to the party\u2019s 1997 landslide, according to polling guru Professor Sir John Curtice.<\/p>\n \u201cThat potentially has implications for the overall outcome in the general election because if that were to happen, they would find it easier to get an overall majority,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Sir Keir is under huge pressure to set out a vision for Labour when the party gathers for its autumn conference in Liverpool this weekend.<\/p>\n It comes as key figures from Tony Blair\u2019s 1997 campaign have warned Sir Keir\u2019s caution risks damaging his chance of winning the next election.<\/p>\n Alastair Campbell, Blair\u2019s former director of communications, told the Guardian: \u201cYou want policy, and you want your policies to be known about, and you want to be able to defend them and to argue them.<\/p>\n \u201cI sometimes worry that the Labour party today doesn\u2019t. I don\u2019t often get that sense of that sort of relentless, restless, obsessive attention to detail focusing on everything that you need to focus on \u201c[In 1996 and 1997] we were not happy if we were not making the news and we weren\u2019t making the weather and we weren\u2019t actually being attacked. Because sometimes being attacked is the only way that you can get out there and make your case.\u201d<\/p>\n Lord Mandelson, Labour\u2019s campaign director for the 1997 election, and a close confidant of Sir Keir, said: \u201cDo I think the Labour party under Keir Starmer is ready for government? Well actually, I don\u2019t. But then the election isn\u2019t going to take place tomorrow or the day after. They have another year.\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/139\/590x\/secondary\/4998802.jpg?r=1696620548333\")
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