'Look around you ... Runcorn has lost its identity'

A TOWN on the banks of the Mersey may be the home to the UK’s new ‘opposition party’ but its residents appear more divided than ever on its future.

- By JAMIE GREER

Just over a week ago, Reform UK candidate and former magistrate Sarah Pochin overturned a huge Labour majority of nearly 15,000 votes to win the Runcorn and Helsby by-election by just six votes.

In the aftermath of the result, it was Reform’s leader Nigel Farage who claimed his party had surpassed the ‘waste of space’ Conservatives and were now best placed to take on the current Labour government led by Sir Keir Starmer.

We visited Runcorn town centre in the wake of the election result to find out how people feel about the changing political landscape in their town.

We spoke to Connor Mortis, 22, who went to the ballot box for the first time to vote in this by-election. Due to his distrust of the bigger political parties, he’s not voted before but changed tack this time around.

When asked what he thought of his hometown, Connor said: “Look around you, it’s a s***hole. There's a lot of closed-down shops. Runcorn has lost its identity.”

Connor believes reducing immigration, a key Reform policy, is vital to improving the town’s prospects. There was relief when he saw the Nigel Farage-led party won with just a handful of votes more than Labour.

He said: “I've never voted before but I did this time. The fact that it was so close made my vote feel worthwhile.”

The latest Home Office figures suggest that just 345 asylum seekers are being housed in temporary accommodation in the two local authorities that span this constituency. This is around 0.37% of the population.

Based on UK census data from 2021 (2022 in Scotland), London is the most popular destination for migrants. Just over 8% of the population in the north west of England are not from the UK, less than the west Midlands, the east and south east of England and London.