‘Labour have done nothing but lie’: grievances fuel Runcorn byelection battle

‘Dogfight’ between Labour and Reform UK is turning ugly after Nigel Farage’s party put immigration centre stageIt’s lunchtime on St George’s Day and the Royal pub in Runcorn is a festival of flags, fags and Farage. “I’m sorry,” says Mike Kneale, a painter, as he explains which party he will back in this week’s crucial byelection: “But it’s Nigel Farage.”The Reform UK leader’s Cheshire cat grin leaps out from billboards and doormats all over this constituency, where his party is odds-on to win its fifth MP and deliver a blow to Keir Starmer. It would be the first time in half a century that Runcorn has elected a non-Labour MP. Continue reading...

Apr 30, 2025 - 06:33
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‘Labour have done nothing but lie’: grievances fuel Runcorn byelection battle

‘Dogfight’ between Labour and Reform UK is turning ugly after Nigel Farage’s party put immigration centre stage

It’s lunchtime on St George’s Day and the Royal pub in Runcorn is a festival of flags, fags and Farage. “I’m sorry,” says Mike Kneale, a painter, as he explains which party he will back in this week’s crucial byelection: “But it’s Nigel Farage.”

The Reform UK leader’s Cheshire cat grin leaps out from billboards and doormats all over this constituency, where his party is odds-on to win its fifth MP and deliver a blow to Keir Starmer. It would be the first time in half a century that Runcorn has elected a non-Labour MP. Continue reading...