Crushing defeat in Welsh byelection triggers renewed outpouring of anger and concern within Labour
A wipeout for Labour in next May’s local elections would spell the end of Keir Starmer’s premiership, MPs have said, after the party suffered a crushing defeat in its traditional heartland in Wales.
Though Plaid Cymru beat Reform UK to capture the Senedd seat in Caerphilly, the result highlighted a striking collapse of Labour’s vote, prompting fears in Westminster that Labour could be reduced to third place in Wales, a loss that would leave the leader’s position unrecoverable.
In a town that Labour has controlled for more than a century and where it still has an MP, it secured just 11% of the vote, a negative swing of 27%. The humiliating result showed that the party is highly vulnerable to challenges from other progressive parties, as well as from Reform.
It provoked renewed anger and concern from some Labour MPs, with one condemning what they called a “totally incoherent” strategy within No 10. “If the national vote across Wales in May is even in the ballpark of Caerphilly, there’s absolutely no way we can carry on like we are after that,” one senior backbencher said.
