When One Nation won the Farrer byelection, it signalled a profound shift in support away from major parties, particularly the Liberals and Nationals.

In the UK, just-completed local elections have taken that shift and amplified it into a generational political change as voters turned their back on the Labour and Conservative parties.

Australian politicians should take note.

Every election is a storytelling contest, with campaigning parties competing to frame the plot.

This year’s UK local elections, the largest test of voters’ mood since the 2024 general election, have been dominated by two master-narratives.

The first is about the demise of the old two-party system under which Labour and the Conservatives have been the battling giants for almost 100 years.

Vast regions of England have long been regarded as safe electoral zones. They have been disrupted only occasionally by strategic incursions by the Liberal Democrats or mid-term revolts against whoever formed the Westminster government.

The story of the 2026 local elections is one of a conspicuous public impulse to punish the old incumbents, resulting in the ascendancy of the new kids on the political block – Reform UK and the Greens.

There are now internal calls for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to step down.

In the 2024 general election, Reform won 15.3 per cent of the vote in English constituencies and the Green Party won 7.3 per cent.

Since then, Labour’s poll ratings have fallen........

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