SIR KEIR STARMER will take “full responsibility” for Labour’s election results, the party leader said today.

With voting taking place across Britain on Friday, including for English councils, the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd, Sir Keir acknowledged that he is facing a major electoral test, the first since he became Labour leader.

“I take full responsibility for the results, just as I take full responsibility for everything that happens in the Labour Party under my leadership,” he said.

Since January, the Tories have had a consistent lead in national polling, but the recent allegations of sleaze against the government may have had an impact on voters as the gap tightened over the weekend.

But in the Hartlepool by-election, Tories are 17 points ahead in a seat Labour has held since it was created in 1974, according to the Survation poll for Good Morning Britain.

Sir Keir, who has visited the constituency three times during the by-election, said he hopes Labour will not lose another seat in the “red wall” and insisted that the party is “fighting for every vote.”