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A senior London Labour MP has sounded the alarm about the growing threat posed by Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, following a significant by-election victory that has sent shockwaves through the capital's political landscape.
Liam Conlon, the MP for Beckenham and Penge, issued a direct and urgent message to his local Labour members, describing Reform's recent win in the Bromley Common and Holwood by-election as "the start of a new trend" in London voting patterns. The victory marks a significant milestone, as it is the first time a Reform councillor has been elected in a London borough. The success has ignited fears within the two main parties about the upcoming London council elections next year.
The by-election, held last Thursday, saw Reform UK candidate Alan Cook secure a comfortable victory with 1,342 votes (34% of the total). The Conservatives, who were defending the seat, saw their vote share plummet by nearly 12 percentage points, with their candidate Ian Payne coming in second with 1,161 votes (29.4%). Despite the Conservatives' efforts, which included a visit from a high-profile party leader, the Reform candidate prevailed, highlighting a significant shift in voter allegiance.
Labour was pushed into a distant third place, suffering a 10-percentage point drop in their vote share to 18%. This result, combined with the Conservative collapse, has led Conlon to urge his party to "treat the Reform threat to the Labour Party seriously too," warning against complacency.
In his letter, Conlon stressed that Reform’s win represents an unprecedented shift in London’s electoral dynamics. He called on Labour to "take the fight to Reform," arguing that the populist party's "implausible, easy answers to difficult problems will ultimately make us all worse off." He also asserted that Reform's values are not aligned with London's diverse communities.
The by-election result in Bromley is not an isolated event. Reform UK has been making steady gains across the country, particularly in local elections held earlier this year, where they took control of seven councils, including those in Kent and Durham. The party's strategy of targeting both Conservative and Labour heartlands seems to be paying off, and they are now setting their sights on the capital. Conservative insiders have expressed growing concern that traditionally safe boroughs like Bexley and Bromley could fall to Reform control in the May 2026 council elections. Reform members are also reportedly confident of making inroads in Labour-held areas like Barking and Dagenham and Westminster.
Adding to Labour's woes is the emerging threat from the political left. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and MP Zarah Sultana have recently launched a new political party, provisionally named 'Your Party.' The party, which aims to challenge Labour from the left, has seen a massive surge in interest, with over 600,000 people reportedly signing up on its website in less than a week. The new party’s launch is fueled by disillusionment with the current Labour leadership and aims to offer an "unapologetically socialist" platform with policies such as democratic public ownership of key industries and rent controls. Corbyn has stated that the surge in support is a direct result of public dissatisfaction with a "stale two-party system." The party is set to hold its first founding conference in the autumn.
This new political landscape presents a formidable challenge for the Labour party in London. They are now fighting a two-front war, facing a surging Reform UK on the right and a newly energized, left-wing independent movement on the other, all while navigating an electorate that appears to be increasingly willing to abandon traditional party loyalties.
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