Reform are marching into Merseyside, where is the fight back?

Political editor Liam Thorp says many will be concerned by the progress of Nigel Farage's right wing populists and says more clear water and signals of hope must be offered to push them back

Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage speaking during a campaign event(Image: Jacob King/PA Wire)

As a journalist, it is always a good idea to get out on the streets of a community to really understand what is going on there.

Having heard reports the St Helens borough of Merseyside was seeing a rise in support for Nigel Farage's right-wing populists, Reform UK, I decided to head to the town's centre to take the temperature last week and find out how much truth there were in these reports.

You can read my full piece here, but to offer a brief synopsis, it feels like the ruling Labour group which has run the town for most of the years since the borough was formed in 1974, is in big, big trouble.

Labour insiders had already told me the local group fear they will lose control of the council at May's all out elections and Reform are likely to be the largest party - if not the outright majority holders.

While I did find a fair few Farage-sympathisers on the streets of St Helens, what struck me more was the level of disappointment and frustration felt towards the Labour Party, both locally and nationally.

People like Billy Bridges, 77, who told me he had always voted Labour, but won't again. He said: "They are just not looking after us." There were others who weren't enamoured with Farage, but said it was time to 'give him a go', which perhaps showed the level of apathy being shown towards Labour and the traditional political parties.

A few days after my article was published, Reform UK announced sitting St Helens Councillor David Hawley, who represents the Bold & Lea Green ward of the town, was joining their party.

St Helens councillor........

© Liverpool Echo