A LABOUR mayor who eeked out a victory in Doncaster over Reform UK has sent a scathing message to Keir Starmer, warning he needs to “listen to voters”.
Ros Jones won with a majority of just 698 over Reform UK candidate Alexander Jones.
Following the tight result, she hit out at the Labour Government over its decisions to slash the Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners, cut access to disability benefits and hike employers’ National Insurance contributions.
"I think national government needs to look and see what people are saying,” she told the BBC.
"I wrote as soon as the winter fuel allowance [cut] was actually mooted, and I said it was wrong, and therefore I stepped in immediately and used our household support fund to ensure no-one in Doncaster went cold during the winter."
She went on: “I think the results here tonight demonstrate that they need to be listening to the man, woman and businesses on the street and actually deliver for the people, with the people."
Pressed whether Starmer had been listening she said: "On certainly two or three occasions, I would say no they haven't actually realised because people in Doncaster know how life can be.
"They need to look again because actually putting up the cost of National Insurance is hitting some of our business. And of course, PIP (Personal Independence Payments), which we know many people are worried about."
Jones has been the mayor of Doncaster since 2013 and has now been re-elected for a fourth term in office.
The narrow victory for new MP Sarah Pochin came after Labour MP Mike Amesbury quit.
Amesbury received a suspended jail sentence for assault in March after punching a constituent.
The result came as Reform made gains against both Labour and the Conservatives across England in local contests, with party leader Farage claiming a “big moment” was taking place in politics.
The defeat in the by-election will cause unease in Downing Street, with the win setting a new record for the smallest majority at a parliamentary by-election since the end of the Second World War.
Scottish Labour MP Brian Leishman has said the result in Runcorn and Helsby “shows Labour must change course”.
In a post on X on Friday morning, the MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, said: “Runcorn shows Labour must change course.
“People voted for real change last July and an end to austerity.
“The first 10 months haven’t been good enough or what the people want and if we don’t improve people’s living standards then the next government will be an extreme right wing one.”
A Labour spokesperson said by-elections are “always difficult for the party in Government” and the circumstances of this vote “made it even harder”.
They said: “Voters are still rightly furious with the state of the country after 14 years of failure and clearly expect the Government to move faster with the plan for change.”
