Keir Starmer faces questions after Farage’s Reform election victories

Keir Starmer will face PMQs on Wednesday after Nigel Farage’s Reform party took over a Labour stronghold in England last week and made other political gains.

The Prime Minister will be forced to face opposition leaders after losing the Runcorn and Helsby by-election last week.

Reform UK’s Sarah Pochin beat Sir Keir Starmer’s candidate Karen Shore by six votes, taking the seat which Labour won with a majority of almost 14,700 less than a year ago.

The by-election was triggered when former Labour MP Mike Amesbury quit after admitting punching a constituent.

Reform also made gains against both Labour and the Conservatives across England in other local contests, with Farage claiming a “big moment” was taking place in politics.

In total, the party has taken control of ten local English councils, won two mayoral races and added a fifth MP to its ranks in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, now that counting has been completed.

Elsewhere, Labour narrowly retained mayoralties in both Doncaster and North Tyneside, with Reform coming a close second in both.

It’s the first time Starmer will face Parliament after the local contests.

However, he’s also likely to big up the multi-billion-pound trade deal struck up with India on Tuesday – which now Tory leader and former trade minister Kemi Badenoch failed to secure during her time in government.

The deal is expected to make it cheaper and easier for both nations to buy and sell goods and services to one another.

British shoppers could see cheaper prices and more choice on products including clothes, footwear, and food products including frozen prawns as UK liberalises tariffs.

It will also slash Indian tariffs on key UK exports such as whisky, cosmetics and medical devices.

The British government said the deal was the “biggest and most economically significant” trade agreement the UK had signed since leaving the European Union in 2020.

Hours after the landmark deal was announced, India fired missiles across the border into Pakistani-controlled territory killing at least 19 people.

Britons have been advised not to travel to parts of India and Pakistan following the deadly escalation in the conflict between the two nations.