Labour warning on Reform UK gaining ground in London
The Labour leader of an east London council has said that the Labour Party should not "be complacent" about the rise in support for Reform UK in the capital.
The comments by Dominic Twomey, the leader of Barking and Dagenham council, come after national YouGov opinion polling suggested that Nigel Farage's Reform UK was one point ahead of Labour in voting intentions.
The borough is among the areas where Reform UK did well in London in the General Election last year.
Reform UK's London Assembly member Alex Wilson said his party's rise is "because of the establishment's continued failure to deliver for working people".
Mr Twomey took over running the east London borough last year after his predecessor Darren Rodwell stepped aside as leader after being forced to withdraw as a parliamentary candidate for Labour.
Speaking to Eddie Nestor for BBC Radio London's "Meet the Leader" hot-seat, a series about the capital's newest council leaders, Mr Twomey recalled the part he and other Labour Party members played in countering the rise of the British National Party (BNP) back in 2006 in Barking and Dagenham when it won 12 council seats.
He said: "We learnt the lesson from 2006 to 2010 and onwards and ever since. Do not become complacent.
"Do not allow a void to come where you don't talk to your residents, because someone will fill it."
Mr Wilson says any comparison between his party and the BNP is "ridiculous".
"Nobody in frontline politics has done more to destroy the rise of the BNP than Nigel Farage," he added.
"We have a mayor who is more focused on diversity officers and mean tweets, rather than focusing on tackling real issues that matter to people," he added.
Mr Twomey said he thought Sir Keir Starmer was on the "path to improve the country", but that Labour had to take political challenges seriously.
He said: "Never be complacent ever, ever. Once you start to be complacent and think that that sort of change can't happen, is when it happens."
He will face his first council election as leader in May next year.
You can listen to Cllr Twomey's full Meet the Leader interview on BBC Sounds.
Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk
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