'Preston voted for something different'

Michael Lavalette, one of Preston's three County Hall independents, said that while they were often referred to by the “pro-Gaza” umbrella under which he and others stood at last year's general election, they had a defined Lancashire manifesto for the local polleven if it had national flavour such as a call for “welfare not warfare”.

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He said their collective victory in three of Preston's nine divisions-which equalled the seats secured by the Lib Dems in the city and exceeded the number won by Labour (one) and Reform UK (two) -felt like a “significant breakthrough” and an opportunity to “challenge Labour from the Left”.