English local elections show Labour’s poll lead is bang onConservatives say Ben Houchen’s win in the Tees Valley mayoral race is evidence Labour is not making the required headway into the working class “Red Wall” of northern England. Labour sources, meanwhile, say that the 19-point swing recorded against Houchen would still be enough to hand Starmer’s party victory in most Westminster seats in the local area. Houchen had a huge cushion.
Reform came in with well over 16 per cent of the votes in Blackpool suggesting that, yet again, the national poll figures are right. The insurgent party is on course to do the Tories serious damage in the general election by splitting the right-wing vote, especially if Farage campaigns, which he has not yet.
But the results overall throw up another potential problem for the prime minister: he may be focusing on the wrong policies to halt the worst of the damage in a general election.