Winning an election is a feat, but winning an election with a 300 votes margin when you had a 3,000 vote margin before is not 'excellent'.

 After 11 years in Opposition, the Labour Party should be making inroads and it isn't. What happened in the so called Red Wall, what happened in Hartlepool, what happened in Chesham and Amersham and to an extent what happened in Batley and Spen, tell yous that all is not well.

Despite the celebratory mood of Keir Starmer that saw the writing on the wall had the Labour Party been defeated in Batley and Spen - a seat that it holds since 1997, the knives were getting ready to strike. I am focused on my work and I am not thinking about any Leadership challenges, stated Angela Rayner now Deputy Leader. It was the kind of denial that much more of denial is a reminder: I am here. I am ready.

The Labour Party can blame George Galloway for their tiny majority in Batley and Spen, but what happened in Hartlepool happened because Labour voters chose not to vote. It was said again and again that in Batley and Spen there is an Asian majority that is increasingly discontent with Keir Starmer stance on Palestine. And there is more. We must remember that the Labour Party no longer has control of the local authority due to several local issues.

What next? There are still about three years before the next General Election. This should be the time that Keir Starmer should use to put the Labour Party back on track. He is lucky to have the support of Andy Burnham and even the support of Ken Livingstone that speaking today on GB News said that Keir Starmer is a genuine Labour man, that as soon as Keir Starmer went to ask him for advice as soon as he became Labour Party Leader.

Ken Livingstone didn't have kind words for George Galloway, but the fact that George Galloway was a complete outsider in Batley and Spen and still managed to get more than 8,000 votes, coming in third place, is a message that cannot be ignored. How many people in the Labour Party were secretely wishing that George Galloway's participation could allow them to challenge Keir Starmer and retoute the Labour Party?

Andy Burnham, the man that many want as Labour Party Leader, came out in support of Keir Starmer and said that he had the intention of keeping his word to remain as Mayor of Manchester for a full term.

Yes, the Labour Party has serious internal issues to deal with, but for some the present circumstances are not the best environment to launch a leadership challenge. Andy Burnham cannot be Labour Party Leader without being an MP. The next General Election should take place in 2024. So unless there was a by-election that he could possibly win, throwing away his seat as Mayor of Manchester where he has a much greater political profile both locally and nationally would be a very poor choice.

Going back to Ken Livingstone, could Ken Livingstone have any aspirations to be allowed to rejoin the Labour Party? His comments about World War Two events and the episode with a Jewish journalist that he compaired to 'a German Concentration Camp Guard' would stand on the way of this return when many in the Labour Party are terrified about how the Jewish Community could react.