“Isn’t the positive though from the Caerphilly by-election that Reform are beatable.”
There is nothing unstoppable about Reform, and the party’s performance in the Caerphilly Senned by-election last week, a seat that it threw the kitchen sink at but still lost, shows that it can be beaten, Andy Burnham says.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester said that there was an “appetite” in the country to challenge and stop the march of the right-wing party, with Farage wrongly portrayed as a ‘Prime Minister in waiting’.
Right-wing papers have been busy portraying Farage and his party as ‘unstoppable’, however in the Caerphilly by-election, Reform were denied a crucial victory with Plaid Cymru winning 47% compared to 36% for Mr Farage’s party.
In an interview with the Mirror, Mr Burnham said: “Isn’t the positive though from the Caerphilly by-election that Reform are beatable. That there is an appetite out there to stand up to them and stop them and challenge them.”
Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram added: “We can do an awful lot more. And we need to take them [Reform] on head-to-head. It’s not just for the Labour Party. We’re getting squeezed as well because the Greens are really picking up.
A question is now being asked across Westminster on whether Reform has hit a ceiling. Its poll ratings have plateaued around 30 per cent and, in Hamilton and Caerphilly, it has fallen short in two by-elections.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward doesn’t have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.
