How credible Labour candidates kept Reform at bay
Reform UK was much less successful than elsewhere, even in 'red wall' towns such as Prudhoe and Haltwhistle. The success was based on credible local candidates who exposed the poor record of the Conservative-run Northumberland county council for the past eight years.
On the doorstep, there was much unhappiness with the Labour government and many voters were considering voting for Reform. We kept Reform at bay by listening to concerns, agreeing that we wanted a change of direction from the government and by promoting a positive vision of local Labour policies for Northumberland.
We made a point of talking about the positive contribution of immigrants to our locality. The government needs to reset its political compass and not make the mistake of trying to mimic Reform. There is also the need for the Labour party to listen to members, particularly those who have run campaigns that have successfully defeated Reform at the ballot box this month. I look forward to hearing from Morgan McSweeney.John HanleyChair, Prudhoe, Wylam and Stocksfield Labour party
Your editorial writes of the first-past-the-post electoral system being 'designed' to keep out extremism. In fact it wasn't designed for anything and was simply the consequence of the introduction of equal electoral districts, each returning a single MP, in 1885. Since then, it has suited the purpose of the major parties to keep this 19th-century relic. But whether its retention is truly in the interests of Labour – which has held power for just 28 years in the last century – seems very doubtful.Howard SpencerHove, East Sussex
Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
‘We're struggling': unease as crowded Cotswolds braces for JD Vance's summer holiday
The narrow lanes and honeyed stone walls of the Gloucestershire market town of Stow-on-the-Wold are not the setting where one would expect to see an angry altercation – unless it was a standoff between Range Rovers for the last parking spot in the gridlocked market square. This is a place of ancient doorways and expensive condiments, where the pavements are dotted with teashops and vintage cars drift past with their roofs down and a plaque on the war memorial records the last time a battle was fought here, in 1646. But could this almost parodistically charming town, or another very like it, soon find itself at the heart of the angry US culture wars? According to reports, the US vice-president, JD Vance, will be holidaying in the Cotswolds with his family next month, and protesters are determined to let him know just how warm the welcome will not be in England's chocolate box countryside. 'JD Vance is every bit as unwelcome in the UK as Donald Trump,' said the Stop Trump Coalition, which mobilises British opposition to the US president. 'We are sure that, even in the Cotswolds, he will find the resistance waiting.' If so, it will not be a new experience for the veep. Vance's wife, Usha, and their three young children had to abandon a ski holiday in Vermont in March after they were met with crowds of protesters with signs reading 'Go ski in Russia'. The Vances were also jeered at Disneyland in California after part of the park was closed off for their sole use. For some, such as the comedian and former chatshow host Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, the actor Portia de Rossi, outrage at the Trump administration has gone further. The couple moved to the Cotswolds earlier this year and now regarded it as permanent, DeGeneres said last week, explicitly so they could escape the Trump administration. Luxury estate agents say they are among growing numbers of wealthy Americans seeking a foothold in what some, inevitably, are calling the English Hamptons (others, on account of the many posh people here already, prefer to call it 'the Couttswolds'). And now, the VP? He may not be popular, but in Stow at least, the Vance resistance did not yet appear to have mobilised earlier this week. Local people know the value of the tourist dollar or yuan, and despite the crowds of tourists disgorging from coaches and the backed-up traffic on the A429, they welcome them, if occasionally through gritted teeth. 'That's the balancing act that [we live with],' said Ken Greenway, who had ridden his scooter into Stow 'to escape the crowds in Burford', his equally picturesque village nearby. Vance and his compatriots were welcome, he said, 'and anybody who has got a business must be over the moon to see all these people coming in. But the locals, we're struggling. I mean, it's taken me 20 minutes to come two miles [into town] on the main road.' Some of the VP's countrymen are less polite about his trip. 'I'm glad we'll have gone by then,' says Laurelyn Karagianis, visiting with a family party from Los Angeles. It had been a dream for a decade to visit the Cotswolds. 'When I think about a cosy, Christmassy holiday, I think of Bourton-on-the-Water, Castle Combe,' she says, adding that it is a shame that US politics has followed the family down the winding lanes. 'I just met with a [British] friend who I haven't seen in 15 years, and that was the main topic of discussion over dinner. It's sad that our politicians are kind of a laughing stock that the world has to protest,' Karagianis says Whatever the cause – US political refugees, a post-Covid exodus of London's wealthy, or sun-dappled social media posts in which Americans visit a pub or try to work an Aga – most local people agree that visitor numbers have swelled significantly in the past decade. For some, enough is enough. After eight years living in Stow, Lesley Webb is moving to West Sussex after a change in her circumstances – which she admits is a relief. 'It's an awful thing to say, but for me, it's just become too touristy. Stow itself has got busier and busier and busier. It's just the volume of people, everywhere,' Webb says. Perhaps happily for the village, rumours now suggest the Vances may end up not in this idyllic part of Gloucestershire so favoured by Americans, but across the Oxfordshire border, closer to Chipping Norton. The Spectator, quoting 'almost impeccable sources', reported that 'a filthy rich Anglo' could be lending his own home to the second family to spare them the deprivations of Airbnb. 'Apparently some senior British political figures, who have knowledge of Cotswolds social scene, are helping the Vance family plan their trip,' the magazine said. Whoever could they mean?
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Governor Bailey is wrong: We should embrace the digital pound
Is the digital pound dead in the water? More than 100 countries are looking at the creation of their very own digital currencies. China already has one. The EU is developing a digital euro at pace. But the Bank of England? It seems to be tacking the opposite way to the rest of the world. Andrew Bailey told MPs on the Treasury Committee that he would need 'a lot of convincing' to greenlight a launch, which the Bank has already said couldn't happen until sometime in the 'second half of the current decade' anyway. Is this an opportunity missed? Even a case where the governor's conservatism threatens to leave Britons in the digital dark ages? First off, I should explain what the digital pound actually is. Digi-pounds (that's not the official name; I'm not sure we have one yet) would be currency issued by the Bank that could be stored in a digital wallet provided by a company like, say, Apple. This would allow you to pay for things directly, without the need for the card you currently have to have set up to use Apple Pay. People could also pay you by the same means. PS, Apple CEO Tim Cook isn't paying either me or The Independent for the mention. I'm using Apple Pay as an example because it's a service I use. Bailey is distinctly unimpressed with the idea of this new form of money. His preferred option is to help the market improve digital payment tech, which he said could deliver 'huge benefits'. Fraud reduction, lower costs, faster payments to SMEs, which at this point are probably saying chance would be a fine thing. "That's a sensible place to do it because that's where most of our money is," the governor opined. But here's an idea: why not simply do both? Is that really so hard? Or is the Bank yet again in 'can't do' mode? It is true that there are legitimate concerns about digital currencies. Sceptics worry about vulnerability to hacking. Fears have also been expressed about their making it easier to launder money, even to facilitate terrorist financing. Criminals took up Bitcoin with alacrity. Lately, they have favoured so-called ' stablecoins ', the value of which are linked to an underlying commodity or an existing currency such as the dollar. On the flip side, some critics have voiced fears about digital currencies being used to facilitate government snooping. This has been a big concern with the Chinese version given the obsessive interest in what its citizens do, say and even think of that country's government. But every new technology comes with pluses and minuses. It would be better for Bailey to accept that and roll with the punches. Bitcoin and its ilk already have a legion of fans in this country. If people like the concept of central bank issued digital currencies, there would theoretically be nothing to stop them from using digital euros if and when they arrive. There are already outlets in London that accept the paper equivalent (and dollars and yen while we're at it). Here's a potential selling point for your business: 'We accept the digital euros!' Right now, the central bank looks flat-footed, a very obvious laggard, largely thanks to the conservatism of the governor. I suspect some of Bailey's caution can be tracked back to his time at the head of the Financial Conduct Authority, a fairly thankless, if well remunerated, task at the best of times. Its CEO tends to get the blame for everything and the credit for nothing. Launching a new form of money is bound to create challenges and it will once again be Bailey's head on the block if something goes wrong. There have lately have been suggestions that the Bank could cease or at least shelve the work it has been doing on a digital pound. That would be a mistake. Digital currencies are coming. The Bank should accept that and prepare for the future. The governor badly needs to pull his legs out of the mud in which they're stuck.
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Starmer must shut asylum hotels sooner, says Labour Red Wall chief
Sir Keir Starmer must act to shut asylum hotels sooner, the chairman of Labour's Red Wall group of MPs has said. There are around 32,000 asylum seekers in hotels and Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, has pledged to axe their use by the end of the current Parliament in 2029. But Jo White, the Labour MP for Bassetlaw, said the caucus she leads of around 40 MPs in the party's traditional heartlands wanted the hotels closed 'a lot, lot quicker than that'. It comes in the wake of 16 arrests for violence last week at the Bell Hotel in Epping after the alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl by a 38-year-old migrant from Ethiopia. Ms White told The Telegraph: 'I've heard ministers saying they share the frustration on the number of small boats that continue to come across and I know they're listening because I constantly go on about it. 'There's a commitment to close down the hotels by the end of the parliamentary term. I think we all want it to be a lot, lot quicker than that.' She went on to urge Sir Keir to 'stop the incentives' that have seen a record 24,000 migrants cross the Channel so far this year, representing a rise of 50 per cent. Ms White welcomed plans by Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, to share the locations of asylum hotels with food delivery companies in a crackdown on illegal working. But she also urged Sir Keir and Ms Cooper to introduce identity cards to tackle the migrant crisis, an idea that has repeatedly been ruled out by Downing Street. Reflecting on anger among her own constituents in Nottinghamshire, Ms White added: 'There is a huge sense of unfairness because people work hard here in this country and commit to supporting the country and then there's the sense that what asylum hotels cost is a huge drag on what should be invested into our NHS, our schools and our infrastructure. 'So they have to close, we have to get those asylum hotels cleared out.' She went on to describe the scenes in Epping as 'really frightening and quite scary' and insisted that violent disorder was never the answer. 'Whilst you might be angry that these people are here, they are human beings, and violence against those people is not acceptable and cannot be tolerated,' she said. A second Labour MP suggested Ms Cooper's department had failed to grasp the scale of public frustration with the use of asylum hotels. A ring of steel was put up around a four-star hotel in London's Canary Wharf last week in an effort to deter protests ahead of the prospective arrival of Channel migrants. The MP said: 'Obviously we are closing hotels but if the Home Office can't understand why the public don't like migrants using four-star hotels in Canary Wharf, then there's a problem. 'I've been pushing for looking at former MoD sites for detention centres – and then you wouldn't need to use these flashy hotels.' The Telegraph revealed last week that plans to slash the number of asylum hotels could mean migrants being housed in empty homes and properties bought by councils. Anger over the scale of the current scheme comes after Sir Keir vowed to significantly reduce both legal and illegal migration. Nigel Farage's Reform UK currently has a comfortable lead in the polls having promised to introduce a 'one in, one out' immigration system and send small boats back to France. There is also a growing backlog of more than 40,000 failed asylum seekers who have appealed against their decisions, many of whom require housing. A government spokesman said: 'Since taking office, we have taken immediate action to fix the asylum system and have started closing down hotels and removing more than 35,000 people with no right to be here. 'While the public have a right to protest against the current situation, we will never tolerate unlawful or violent behaviour.'
