Labour’s by-election loss in Sleaford and North Hykeham was “humiliating”, a long-serving West Midlands MP has warned.

David Winnick, Labour MP for Walsall South, said: “My fear is that we are not in touch with ordinary people, anywhere near the extent that is necessary to make a real impact in the country.”

Conservative candidate Caroline Johnson was elected in Thursday’s by-election with a majority of 13,144. Meanwhile Labour, which came second in the seat in 2015, slipped down to fourth place.

The Lincolnshire constituency is a safe Tory seat and there was little prospect of Labour winning.

However, as the main opposition party, and the party that came second last time, Labour might have expected to see its share of the vote increase. Instead, it was overtaken by UKIP , which came second, and the Liberal Democrats , who came third.

Mr Winnick, a Black Country MP since 1979, told BBC’s Daily Politics show: “It was humiliating.”

He pointed out that Labour had never won the seat, adding: "But we were second, of course, in the general election, and to be beaten into fourth place by the Liberal Democrat was, as I said, humiliating.”

In an apparent reference to public rallies supporting Mr Corbyn, such as those which took place during the Labour leadership contest, Mr Winnick said: “There are those who don’t seem to grasp that if you have rallies of the faithful, loyalists, activists and the rest of it, that’s fine. But you can lose touch with the real world.”

And he warned: “We are not in touch ... we are not perceived by so many people as acting in their interest.”

Meanwhile, a poll has placed Labour at its lowest point in seven years - and 17 points behind the Tories.

The YouGov survey put the Tories on 42 per cent, Labour on 25 per cent, UKIP on 12 per cent and the Lib Dems on 11 per cent.