Politics latest: Labour MP's 'feeling dismayed, demoralised and shocked' after local elections
New Runcorn poll reveals Labour remains most trusted on key issues - despite Reform UK win
The Labour Party will be conducting a lot of soul-searching after the loss of the Runcorn and Helsby parliamentary by-election on Thursday by just six votes.
What will help them figure out what went wrong will be plenty of polling, and we've just had the results of surveys conducted by Survation on behalf of the non-profit progressive group 38 Degrees.
The firm surveyed 444 adults in the constituency from 28 April to 2 May, the day of the by-election, on what their top issues were, and they found that immigration (20%), the NHS (16%), and the cost of living (10%) were the main issues raised.
Immigration was the top issue for 56% of Reform UK voters, compared to 2% of Labour voters.
What is encouraging for Labour is that they are the most trusted party on the majority of the main issues for voters - except immigration, where they are narrowly beaten by Reform UK.
Asked what would increase their trust in politicians, the answer was quite simple - delivery.
They want to see reduced NHS waiting times, government supporting pensioners, punishing businesses who break the rules, and funding local services.
Interestingly, reducing immigration actually scored behind these measures - except for those for whom immigration was their biggest concern at this by-election due to worries about its impact on the NHS and the economy.
A clear majority of voters (54%) think the wealthy should pay more in taxes to fund decent public services - although Reform UK voters were split on that, with a narrow plurality believing they already pay their fair share.
Damian Lyons Lowe, CEO of Survation, said the survey reveals the "complexity" behind this "landmark result for Reform UK".
"Runcorn and Helsby doesn't look like a typical Reform seat: higher levels of education, more mixed demographically, and far from the party's Leave-heavy heartlands," he said.
"These 'held-back' voters - financially stretched, politically unanchored, are open to disruption. Runcorn and Helsby now joins a growing list of places where Reform can credibly win - and that should be a wake-up call to all parties competing in similar territory."
Matthew McGregor, CEO of 38 Degrees, added that this survey "shows voters haven't seen or felt the change they wanted", and that "action on the cost of living and saving the NHS remain key to winning voters' trust".
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