It is no surprise people want change, the government must deliver it.

There is no doubting the local elections saw a challenging night for the government – especially here in the North East.

The electoral success of Reform UK in County Durham and Northumberland cannot be ignored. In Durham, the party not only gained a foothold, it seized control of the entire council. In Northumberland, Reform secured enough seats to potentially co-govern with the Tories. 

“We need change” is a cry that has come from many down the years, but it was a message that came clearly from the electorate last week. And it was the same one they sent at the General Election. 

People are fed up with the status quo and desperately want real change. This should come as no surprise after more than a decade of Conservative austerity, crumbling public services and stagnant wages. 

The government must not panic. The response must be to focus on delivering real change that improves people’s lives. 

After all the public overwhelmingly voted for stronger rights at work, improved living standards and decent pay. That’s why Labour’s new Employment Rights Bill – with its promises to end fire and rehire, ban exploitative zero hours contracts and protect workers from harassment – is a clear route to restoring faith in politics. 

And while Nigel Farage likes to pose as a “man of the people,” his record tells a very different story. Farage ordered his MPs to vote against the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation.

That’s why Reform voted against the Employment Rights Bill, and voted against it at every stage in parliament – despite their supporters overwhelmingly wanting stronger rights at work.

Meanwhile, the tone adopted by Reform’s leadership since the local elections has been disgraceful. Threats aimed at Durham council staff are callous and reveal a shocking disregard for the hard-working council employees. Local authority staff are not political pawns. They are the people who keep vital services running. 

This tells you all you need to know about Reform and Nigel Farage. They’re not on the side of working people – they’re on the side of bad bosses and billionaires.

The results on May 1st were not a protest vote. They were a warning. A warning that unless real change is delivered, voices of division will continue to exploit public anger. Labour still commands a huge parliamentary majority and a powerful electoral mandate. That mandate was won on a promise to rebuild Britain, fix broken public services, and raise living standards after 14 years of Tory failure. 

That’s where the focus must remain. That means an unrelenting focus on the cost of living, rebuilding the NHS, improving schools, investing in skills and delivering an industrial strategy that brings good, secure work to every corner of the country. 
Now is the time to deliver.