Was he in the jungle? Starmer and Farage struggle to engage Doncaster voters

You can't fix the system with the same hands that broke it," shouted Richie Vallance through a megaphone from his mobility scooter in the city centre.

- Robyn Vinter

You can't fix the system with the same hands that broke it," shouted Richie Vallance through a megaphone from his mobility scooter in the city centre. "Let's make Doncaster, Doncaster again," he yelled to passersby who mostly politely ignored him.

Vallance, who is standing as an independent, is one of 12 mayoral candidates at the local elections on 1 May. The small South Yorkshire city is a key battleground that will be a test of Labour's resilience in the face of rising public support for Reform UK. All 55 seats on the city council will also be up for election.

Nigel Farage's party is surging ahead in the polls and in Doncaster there is a good chance it might wrestle control from Labour, which has been in power for nearly 50 years.

Last month, a poll conducted by Electoral Calculus for the Telegraph found Reform was expected to win in 32 of the 55 seats on the council.

"It's a beautiful town, with so much potential," Vallance said. He had previously explored standing for Reform UK. "I was all about Brexit," he said, "and we need to deal with the immigration problem in Doncaster."