Sir Keir Starmer addresses Chinese and UK business delegations during his trip to Shanghai.Credit: PA Wire/PA Images 

Sir Keir Starmer has criticised the “politics of poisonous division” of Reform UK after the party’s candidate in the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election was endorsed by far-right activist Tommy Robinson.

The prime minister made the remark during the final leg of his trip to east Asia, when he was asked if the vote on February 26 should be viewed as a referendum on his premiership.

“It is very much and very clearly now a by-election between Labour and Reform on key principles,” Starmer said. “I see that Tommy Robinson, I think, has just come out in support of Matt Goodwin, the Reform candidate.

“That tells you everything about the politics they intend to inject into this by-election, the politics of poisonous division, so we can see exactly where that’s going.”

Far-right activist Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, posted “vote for Matt” on X on Friday in reference to GB News presenter and former academic Goodwin.

Reform announced Goodwin as its candidate earlier in the week. A Reform UK spokesman said the party has been “consistently clear” on its view on Robinson and that “he isn’t welcome in the party”.

Insisting that Labour was the “only contender”, Starmer said: “So, it’s Labour versus Reform and we will fight for renewal, for inclusive communities and bringing people together, and for true patriotism against the plastic patriotism of Reform.

“But only Labour can beat Reform, and therefore it’s the only way to win this by-election.”

An early opinion poll has suggested Labour’s support could crumble in the seat, with Reform and the Greens picking up a larger share of the vote.

The sample size in the survey was small, however, meaning it could have had a larger-than-usual margin of error.

Starmer also refused to say whether he would personally join on-the-ground campaigning efforts in Gorton and Denton to ensure Labour holds onto the constituency in Greater Manchester.

“Well, we’ll set our campaign plan when we’ve got the candidates in place later on this morning, but I will be campaigning across the country, as I always do,” the prime minister said.

On Saturday, Labour announced its candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election would be Angeliki Stogia, a Manchester city councillor for Whalley Range.

Stogia, who was first elected as a Manchester councillor in 2012, told a crowd of Labour activists at a launch event in the constituency on Saturday she was a “proud Mancunian woman”.

In an attempt to roll the pitch for a straight fight with Reform UK, Stogia also said: “This is about Manchester. Manchester is a city united, we are rejecting division. I am so looking forward to going out on the doorstep and winning this for Labour.”

Labour won the seat in Greater Manchester with more than half the vote – 18,555 – in 2024, with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK coming second on 5,142 votes, narrowly beating the Greens at 4,810.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski said there were “just days to stop Reform” as he unveiled councillor Hannah Spencer, a 34-year-old plumber, as the Green candidate on Friday.

Elsewhere, in a sign of the ongoing divisions within Labour, Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotherham criticised a culture of anonymous briefings from within government.

It comes after Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham was blocked by the party from standing to become Gorton and Denton’s MP.

He wrote on X that people within government responsible for the whispering campaign against Burnham were “gutless”, adding: “These anonymous attacks help nobody but our opponents. For the sake of our party, please just stop.”

Burnham has complained that “people just think they can say what they like to the media” in the aftermath of his bid for the seat being blocked.