Labour is privately urging a disgraced MP not to quit for fear of losing another by-election to Nigel Farage's Reform UK, it was claimed last night.

Sources said former health minister Andrew Gwynne, suspended by Labour after The Mail on Sunday exposed his racist and sexist comments earlier this year, was facing appeals from party officials to stay on.

They said Labour was 'scared stiff' that if Mr Gwynne stood down, it would hand Mr Farage another by-election triumph akin to Reform's shock victory in Runcorn and Helsby last month.

But local Labour officials are also said to be worried that snatching Mr Gwynne's Greater Manchester seat would give Reform a platform to oust nearby Labour big-hitters Deputy PM Angela Rayner and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds at the next general election. 

The claims come after Sir Keir made clear he now considered Reform to be Labour's main enemy, saying the Tory party was 'sliding into the abyss'.

In leaked messages from a local WhatsApp group called Trigger Me Timbers, the MP also joked about how he hoped a pensioner who didn't vote for his party would die before the next election.

The MP, who apologised for his 'badly misjudged comments', is now under investigation by the Commons' standards watchdog over potentially 'causing significant damage to the reputation of the House'.

When this newspaper revealed the messages in February, Mr Gwynne was sacked as a health minister and 'administratively suspended' by the Labour party immediately.

However, last night, insiders claimed Labour officials at national and local level were privately appealing to Mr Gwynne, who sits as an Independent MP, not to resign and trigger a by-election in his Gorton and Denton seat.

The sources said party bosses were desperate to avoid a repeat of their shock defeat in the Runcorn and Helsby contest where Mr Farage's party overturned a 14,696 Labour majority last month. With a 13,413 majority, Mr Gwynne's seat looks to be even more vulnerable.

One insider predicted: 'With Reform riding high in the polls, there'd be only one winner if Gwynne resigned from the Commons and that'd be the candidate Nigel Farage picked to stand. There's no way Labour would hold it – they're scared still of Reform.'

The 72-year-old from Stockport who Mr Gwynne insulted said she was angry he had not stood down yet, adding: 'If he wants to resign, Labour should allow it. I know Reform has won a seat, and they don't want to lose another.'

However, one Labour MP dismissed the idea that the party wanted Mr Gywnne to stay on, stressing the strong action it had taken when his offensive messages were revealed. Mr Gwynne declined to comment.