Labour faces ‘serious questions’ if Wakefield by-election lost, says Wes Streeting

Red-wall contest is must-win to show Labour on ‘path back to government’, says frontbencher

This week’s by-election in Wakefield is a must-win for Labour, senior frontbencher Wes Streeting has said.

The shadow health secretary said Sir Keir Starmer’s party would face “serious questions” if it failed to take the crucial red-wall seat back from the Tories.

Thursday’s contest in West Yorkshire is a “big test” of whether voters in key seats in the north and Midlands are ready to put their trust in Labour again, the shadow minister said.