Nigel Farage mocked Keir Starmer for failing to meet any ordinary voters today after the PM finally visited a crucial by-election battlefield.
The Reform leader hit out at the 'desperate' PM - weighed down by disastrous personal poll ratings - following his surprise trip to Gorton & Denton yesterday.
However, there was little more than token 'campaigning', with Sir Keir carefully surrounded by Labour activists, candidate Angeliki Stogia and his deputy Lucy Powell inside a sports centre.
Despite aides insisting he would be meeting voters, there is no evidence that happened.
He did speak to Andy Burnham, having blocked the Greater Manchester mayor from standing to become the area's MP.
Labour sources indicated the pair agreed on the need for unity against Reform - but there were no images of the encounter.
Keir Starmer visited Gorton & Denton yesterday but was carefully surrounded by Labour activists, candidate Angeliki Stogia (right) and his deputy Lucy Powell inside a sports centre
Nigel Farage hit out at the 'desperate' PM - weighed down by disastrous personal poll ratings - following his surprise trip to Gorton & Denton yesterday
Sir Keir did speak to Mr Burnham, having blocked the Greater Manchester mayor from standing to become the area's MP. But there were no pictures of the encounter
Speaking at a Birmingham press conference today, Nigel Farage said: 'The PM turned up to a by-election, wow. And what did he do?
'He was kept in an enclosed room, he hugged the candidate as if it was Friday morning and they had just won and didn't get out and meet a single member of the public.
'As indeed I don't believe he met a single member of the public in the last general election - which is probably just as well as it would have cost them votes.'
He said that Labour claims that they were doing well in Gorton and Denton were a sign the PM was 'desperately trying to show a little confidence' in what was a 'three-way fight'.
One senior Labour backbencher suggested Keir Starmer had been kept away from the public in Gorton for his own safety.
'They probably did it to stop someone from throwing an egg at him, that would have been terminal for the campaign', they said.
In a speech to supporters, the PM hammered the Greens over backing drugs legalisation, saying they wanted his teenage son to be able to buy heroin and crack cocaine.
But asked if he would take the blame if Labour loses the contest on Thursday, Sir Keir merely said: 'This is a very important constituency, a very important by-election.'
Labour has been hoping to paint the by-election - in a traditional stronghold seat - as a straight fight with Reform, which has been riding high in national polls.
However, the tone seems to be shifting to attacks on the Greens, in a sign they fear Zack Polanski's party is gaining traction.
Even more optimistic activists believe the outcome is on a knife-edge, with the very limited polling so far suggesting a three-way split.
Constituency-level surveys are notoriously difficult to conduct.
The PM's decision to visit the seat, where Sir Keir's potential leadership rival Andy Burnham was blocked from standing, comes after he did not hit the campaign trail in last year's Runcorn and Helsby by-election, where Reform's Sarah Pochin won by six votes.
Reform candidate Matt Goodwin has branded the by-election a referendum on Sir Keir's leadership, as the PM struggles to cling on in No10.
Losing the battle could spark a fresh bout of speculation about the premier's future, with grim local elections looming in May.
Sir Keir said: 'In this by-election a vote for the Green Party is, in effect, a vote for Reform.
'And we saw in the by-election in Runcorn last year, where Labour lost by just a handful of votes, we got a Reform Member of Parliament. We mustn't let that happen again.
'When it comes to the Green Party, look at their drugs policy: they say we should legalise heroin and crack cocaine.
'Imagine what would happen in every park and every playground in this constituency if that happened.
'I have to say, as a father of a boy who's 17-and-a-half, the idea that the Green Party would make the argument that just, in a few months time, it should be perfectly lawful to sell him heroin and crack cocaine. I find that disgusting.'
Reform candidate Matt Goodwin has branded the by-election a referendum on Sir Keir's leadership, as he struggles to cling on in No10
Green campaign literature includes Urdu translations of messages including this one insisting it is the only party that can beat Reform
