Party fears a hard night, but sticks to guns on migration

Labour is under no illusion: Thursday's local elections are going to be difficult.

- Pippa Crerar

Labour is under no illusion: Thursday's local elections are going to be difficult. Nigel Farage's Reform is on course to take hundreds of council seats and is ahead in the race for two mayoralties. Keir Starmer has not even campaigned in the Runcorn and Helsby byelection, such is the expectation of defeat.

"The opening image of this set of elections was a Labour MP punching a swing voter in the face," one party insider admitted. "Of course it's going to be tough."

While much of the focus will inevitably be on how the Conservatives fare against Reform - with Kemi Badenoch's team prepared for a brutal night - there is much anxiety in the Labour ranks about how to handle the threat. Some Labour MPs worry that No 10's total focus on maintaining support among voters tempted by Reform means they are in danger of lurching too far to the right on issues such as immigration.

They fear this could turn off more progressive-minded voters who see legal migration as essential to economic growth and cultural enrichment, and recognise that much irregular migration comes from a place of desperation.