‘Anyone but Labour’ or ‘anyone but Reform’? Clash of animosities likely to define May local elections

While Labour braces for a rout that could see off Starmer, a rising drive to keep out Farage is complicating expectations Local elections are often regarded as a referendum on the sitting government, with many previous administrations taking a bloody nose from the electorate but successfully fighting back by the next general election. Senior Labour figures have taken to reeling off a list of midterm results – 1999, 2003, 2012 – to prove that point. “As we get closer to the general election, it w