Uxbridge: Keir Starmer says Labour must learn lessons of by-election defeat

Labour indispensable larn the lessons of its by-election decision successful Uxbridge, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The Labour person had blamed the nonaccomplishment connected London Mayor Sadiq Khan's plans to grow the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) - a taxation connected polluting vehicles.

Conservative Steve Tuckwell won the spot aft campaigning against the tax.

Addressing Labour's nationalist forum, Sir Keir said determination was "something precise wrong" erstwhile a Labour argumentation was connected "each and each Tory leaflet".

He said that portion a by-election triumph successful Selby and Ainsty, successful North Yorkshire, should springiness Labour "every crushed to beryllium confident", the nonaccomplishment successful Uxbridge showed determination is "still a agelong mode to go".

"That effect successful Uxbridge demonstrates determination is ne'er immoderate crushed to beryllium complacent and ne'er a crushed to remainder connected our laurels," Sir Keir told the forum successful Nottingham.

"We've got to look up to that and to larn the lesson," helium said.

Labour's Keir Mather, 25, won the contention successful North Yorkshire connected Thursday, overturning a 20,137 bulk to go the youngest sitting MP.

But the Conservatives clung onto ex-PM Boris Johnson's erstwhile Uxbridge seat, sparking debates astir some parties' greenish policies.

Sir Keir told the BBC the Ulez program had outgo Labour triumph - but Mr Khan has defended the measure arsenic the "right one".

Mr Tuckwell, the winning candidate, said the "damaging and costly Ulez policy" had mislaid Labour the seat.

Some connected the close of the Conservative enactment accidental that pulling backmost from immoderate greenish policies would beryllium fashionable with voters, astatine a clip erstwhile families are feeling cost-of-living pressures.

Tory MP Craig Mackinlay, president of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group, has suggested delaying the prohibition connected caller diesel and petrol cars, pushing it backmost "at least" 5 years to 2035.

Downing Street sources accidental determination are nary plans to alteration clime targets - but that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak volition effort to acceptable his enactment isolated from Labour successful the coming months.

As the large parties digest the by-election results, ex-climate curate Lord Ian Duncan, a Conservative, warned that if Sir Keir and Rishi Sunak bash not enactment authorities speech and hold a communal attack to clime change, radical volition look "serious challenges".

Lord Duncan, who was the parliamentary nether caput for clime alteration from July 2019 to February 2020, said a "bipartisan approach" was needed from some parties to "get behind" communal clime policies.

Politicians mightiness triumph votes successful the short-term by distancing themselves from beardown clime policies - "but mean term, I'm not adjacent talking agelong word anymore, determination volition beryllium superior challenges and changes to our clime that volition impact radical successful their mundane lives", helium said.

However, speaking connected BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Lord Duncan said the situation was ensuring clime argumentation did not penalise radical "beyond their quality to pay".

Referring to greener exertion specified arsenic caller state boilers, helium said: "We've got to marque definite it's a modulation and it works for everybody."

No 1 should beryllium near down oregon beryllium impoverished by these policies, "otherwise it volition beryllium a occupation for democracy", helium said.