Unite and the CWU both recently warned that many of their members would vote for Reform UK. Meanwhile, Farage’s party has gained the most ground within areas of staunch Labour and trade-unionist traditions – such as Durham, the home of the miners’ gala.
As a recent Financial Times article admitted, the reasons are all too clear. While Starmer mercilessly attacks the most vulnerable, Thatcher-adoring, DOGE-loving Nigel Farage has been campaigning recently by outflanking Starmer from the left!
Nothing is too hypocritical for this grand opportunist: whether it’s statements of support for the Birmingham bin strikes; calls for nationalisation of steel and water; or sending his vice deputy Richard Tice into Parliament wearing a union pin.
🚨 BREAKING | Reform lead by 10pts 😱
🟦 REF – 32% (+9)
🔴 LAB – 22% (-4)
🔵 CON – 19% (-5)
🟠 LD – 13% (-1)
🟢 GRN – 9% (+1)Via @BMGResearch, 6-8 May (+/- vs 26-27 Mar) pic.twitter.com/pN9DS0bXfn
— Stats for Lefties 🍉🏳️⚧️ (@LeftieStats) May 9, 2025
Sadly, however, many of the trade union tops have met this trend with nothing but inexplicable disbelief and disdain. The TUC put out an ad, for instance, claiming Farage was trying to take electric vehicle workers’ jobs because of his stance on EVs.
The problem is that workers are already losing their jobs – as in Luton’s Vauxhall car plant. What did Labour do to prevent that? Or indeed decades of deindustrialisation?
At the same time, union leaders have sowed illusions in Labour’s plan to ‘make work pay’ – which, as the FT comments, most workers have never heard of.
Make no mistake, Farage is no friend of the working class. This former trader is clearly in the same pocket of big business as Starmer, and all the rest of them.
Starmer himself is showing no sign of changing course. Instead, he is doubling down on dog-whistle racism and migrant bashing – attempting to outflank Reform from the right!
However, it is precisely not the racism or migrant bashing, but rather the appearance of being in touch with ordinary working-class people, which is giving Farage his credentials.
Unite has suggested that Farage’s popularity is “deeply worrying”. But the real point to take note of is that Farage is gaining support by calling for the nationalisation of British Steel and Thames Water – and furthermore, by insinuating that this should be done “without a penny” in compensation to fat-cat owners.
This ought to act as a wake-up call to the union leaders, who typically suggest that such demands as the expropriation of the commanding heights of the economy are ‘childish’ and ‘unrealistic’.
To cut across Reform’s rise, the unions must be the ones to take the fight to capitalism and to the Labour government – not with demagoguery, but through action.
Six votes send message to Labour
Leah Harthill, Manchester
Reform UK won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election by just six votes, beating Labour who had won the seat just ten months ago with a huge majority.
In Runcorn, years of austerity and declining living standards have left a real feeling of being left behind. One 22-year-old resident commented that “there aren’t a lot of opportunities in the town”. When asked what he’d change, he replied simply: “Everything.”
Labour’s ten months in government have left their mark on locals’ opinions too. With the winter fuel allowance and cuts to personal independence payments in their recent memory, a future under Labour appears to be one of cut after cut to social spending. With residents wanting change, Reform UK’s campaign appealed to many as something different.
Local politics certainly played a role too. This particular by-election was, of course, triggered by the misbehaviour of the previous MP, Mike Amesbury, arrested for punching one of his constituents. This has only strengthened the town’s hatred for politicians in general.
For the people of Runcorn, the main question of this election was not immigration, but living standards. Labour’s campaign to close down the local hotel housing asylum seekers was completely out of touch with this.
Many expressed their disdain towards all sides through spoiled ballots, with one teller saying that they had never seen so many penises drawn on paper before.
While Reform UK’s victory signifies a desire for change and a lack of faith in Starmer’s Labour to deliver, many are already pointing out that Reform will continue to offer more of the same.
One local resident commented on a local Facebook group: “Let’s check back in 12 months time. I can guarantee nothing will have changed.”
‘Lie-bour’ loses Lincolnshire
Kayleigh Hunt, Lincoln
In Lincolnshire, a meagre 30 percent of voters turned out on 1 May to have their say in both the council elections and the mayor of the new Greater Lincolnshire combined authority.
Reform gained 44 seats in the county council, ripping it away from the Conservatives. Dame Andrea Jenkyns, an ex-Conservative MP who successfully ousted Labour’s Ed Balls in 2015, took the title of Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire.
Reform WIN Greater Lincolnshire mayoralty with more than 50% of the vote.
— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) May 2, 2025
This hasn’t come as a surprise to most people in Lincolnshire, despite small counter demonstrations against Reform. People in Lincolnshire are sick of the ‘Lie-bour’ government and their false promises.
As one resident commented: “This is just a warning to all of Labour and Conservatives. You have played the fiddle long enough. Now it will play a proper tune.”
Lincolnshire Live led with the headline: “Reform was always going to win easily in Lincolnshire – now we’re the guinea pigs for the rest of the UK.” And this seems to be the mood across the board, excitedly anticipating change that is so desperately wanted.
Inspired by billionaire Elon Musk’s government cost-cutting initiative, Jenkyns has suggested deploying a ‘Lincolnshire Doge’: promising to scrap non-existent diversity officers.
Locals, meanwhile, are crying out for basic street lighting at night, stopping solar farms from taking land from farmers, and bringing the Lincoln Christmas Market back – which has been asked about every year since its cancellation after Covid.
Lincolnshire was ready for change – and they’ve got it. They are looking for a party that stands up for them, in the absence of anything else. It is no surprise the Reform has stepped in.
Red wall cracks in Preston
Vinnie, Preston
Preston, once the heart of industrial Lancashire, has a strong working-class tradition and long-standing support for Labour. However, the recent county council elections have turned that history on its head
Back in 2024, Labour held a strong grip on the area, winning six out of nine wards. That dominance has now shrunk to a single win in Central West. Just ten months into their time in government, it’s clear many voters have lost faith in Labour.
The winning candidates were a mix of Liberal Democrats, Reform UK members, and independents.
Palestine is still a crucial issue on the minds of people in Preston, given that all of the winning independents are openly left-leaning and pro-Palestine. And despite the fear mongering around the right that Labour and the liberal media continue to whip up, left-wing ideas are shown to still appeal to many voters.
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It is not the ‘rise of the far-right’ that is winning Farage these votes, but the fact that people are desperately looking for an alternative to the establishment parties that can offer them any change.
One person on the street even told comrades that they would vote for Farage not because they trust him, but because he would at least stir up the order of things.
The turnout for voters has also decreased, from 30 percent in 2024 to 28 percent. Whilst not huge, it is still a signal of the growing disillusionment people have in the political system altogether.
Revolution anyone?
