On a bruising, humbling evening for the Labour Party, it is Nigel Farage and Reform who came up smelling of roses. The right-leaning party have made a series of major gains across the country, winning a slew of council seats and several mayoral elections.
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Reform win big at Local Elections – eating into Labour votes
Of course, Reform also won the Runcorn by-election by just six votes following a recount. This has restored their number of sitting MPs to five, after Rupert Lowe was suspended by the Farage-led organisation earlier this year.
That upheaval didn’t seem to derail the party – which also appears to be hoovering up disenfranchised Labour voters. The collapse of the Conservative vote has certainly been a sight to behold, but Labour’s losses have also been Reform’s gain. It’s something Andy Burnham is all too aware of.
Andy Burnham says ‘damage of Brexit’ must be addressed by Labour
The Greater Manchester Mayor has had a busy week. He travelled to Parliament to unveil his plans to connect the “Northern Arc” of Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, and Liverpool through major new infrastructure investment, which he believes can generate around £100bn for the region.
He was also quizzed by Channel 4 about the Local Elections, before the polling stations opened. When asked about Labour losing voters to Reform, Andy Burnham made it clear that the government needs to start talking about one thing in particular – Brexit.
‘Brexit has damaged our prospects’
Reform, formerly known as the Brexit Party, continue to win over the floating voters. But Burnham believes the best strategy for Labour is to tackle the damage of Brexit head-on – and pin the blame squarely on the likes of Nigel Farage and those who backed it.
“Let me say something about this situation. The biggest rupture in all of that [Nigel Farage and Reform gaining votes] – is Brexit. I think partly, what Labour now needs to do, is talk more about Brexit, and how it has damaged this country’s prospects.”
“Let’s say over the last decade, it feels like things have become broken. Don’t forget, I left Westminster because I was frustrated with politics as usual down there. I came out to say, look, something fundamentally different is needed.” | Andy Burnham