Labour Narrowly Sees Off Reform UK Surge To Win Mayoral Elections

The result will be a huge relief for Keir Starmer.Labour has seen off a surge in Reform UK support to hold on in three mayoral elections.In a result which will be greeted with relief in Downing Street, Ros Jones beat her Reform rival Alexander Jones by just 698 votes to be re-elected the mayor of Doncaster.The victory was announced just minutes after it was confirmed that Labour had also won the West of England mayoral race.Earlier, Labour’s Karen Clark had narrowly won the North Tyneside mayoralty by 444 votes from Reform UK, who are also on course to win hundreds of council seats across England.Science secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC: “Voters stuck with Labour and we won. There are no prizes for second place.”In Doncaster, Labour’s Ros Jones received 23,805 votes to Reform candidate Alexander Jones’ 23,107. Tory Nick Fletcher was third on 18,982.Labour sources said the result showed the Tories will have to rely on a Reform pact to win in the future.But Ros Jones herself said the narrowness of her victory should be a wake up call for the Labour leadership.She said: “The results tonight demonstrate that they need to be listening to the man, woman and businesses in the street and actually deliver for the people.“On two or three occasions I would say they haven’t actually realised because the people of Doncaster know how hard life can be and it’s about delivering for them and their children and their children’s children.”She highlighted the decision to scrap winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners, the rise in employers’ National Insurance payments and cuts to disability benefits as examples of policies which have proved unpopular with voters.In the West of England, Labour’s Helen Godwin won with 51,197 votes, ahead of Reform UK’s Arron Banks on 45,252.The result was a major blow for the Greens, whose candidate Mary Page came third on 41,094. A YouGov poll a week ago showed the party on course for victory, suggesting their support collapsed in the final days of the campaign.A Labour source said: “Not only has their vote fallen since 2021 but the Conservative vote has also plummeted by 12%.“Voters have been appalled at the pact that the Tories and Reform have been discussing over the campaign.”But Green co-leader Carla Denyer said: “I’m pleased how well Greens did in this mayor contest. This result offers a great platform for more Green electoral success in the coming years – including at Westminster.” A Conservative Party spokesman said: “This is a disappointing result - Steve Smith fought a great campaign.“However, Labour’s result in this contest is also telling – with the party seeing a significant fall in its share of the vote despite winning a historic majority at the general election just 10 months ago. “Labour are going backwards, leaving serious questions about Keir Starmer’s leadership – and the future of this Labour government.”Related...Exclusive: Senior Labour Minister Accuses Tories Of 'Gifting' Crunch By-Election To Reform UKTony Blair Has Triggered A Labour Civil War By Attacking 1 Key Government PolicyPat McFadden Faced With Devastating Graph Showing Labour And Tories At 'Historic' Low In Polls

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