A London Labour MP has issued a stark warning about the threat the party faces from Reform in the capital.
Liam Conlon issued the message to local Labour members after Nigel Farage's party stormed to victory in a by-election in Bromley last week.
The Beckenham and Penge MP said he feared the win marked "the start of a new trend" in voting patterns in the capital and Labour must take the threat "seriously".
In a letter to party members, he said: "This is the first Reform councillor to be elected anywhere in London, and I fear it marks the start of a new trend.
"The incumbent Conservatives threw everything they had at it and even sent down their leader Kemi Badenoch and other high-profile figures to campaign, but the Reform candidate still won comfortably.
"And whilst the write-up in the media has been about the Tory collapse, I believe we must treat the Reform threat to the Labour Party seriously too.
"This is a shift in voting patterns that we have not seen before, and we cannot be complacent.
"We must take the fight to Reform, showing local residents that their implausible, easy answers to difficult problems will ultimately make us all worse off. I also know Reform do not represent the values of our community here – where we see our diversity as a strength not a weakness, and something to unite us not divide us."
Reform now has a handful of councillors in the capital, but all but one have defected from other parties.
Alan Cook took the Bromley Common and Holwood ward last Thursday with 1,342 votes (34%).
Tory candidate Ian Payne, a former councillor and Salvation Army minister, saw his party’s vote share drop almost 12 percentage points, coming in second with 1,161 votes (29.4%).
Labour were pushed into third place with 18 % of the vote - a drop of 10 percentage points.
The Conservatives failed to retain the seat despite sources claiming the party “threw the kitchen at the campaign”.
This included Ms Badenoch visiting the borough to canvas on polling day where she posed for pictures with activists.
Mr Farage’s party made huge gains in local elections held earlier this year, seizing control of seven councils, including Kent, Durham and Lancashire.
Reform is hoping to repeat the success in the capital next year.
Conservative sources told the Standard they had mounting fears about the council elections due to be held in London next May, suggesting both Bexley and Bromley could fall to Reform control.
Local members of Mr Farage’s party also believe they can make gains Labour controlled areas, including in the boroughs of Barking and Dagenham and Westminster.
Meanwhile Labour also faces a threat from left wing independent groups who have already won several local by-elections in east London in recent months.
A new political party set up by ex Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and MP Zarah Sultana has seen a surge of support since announcing its launch last week.
In just under a week, over 600,000 people have reportedly signed up on the Your Party website, signalling a growing interest among UK voters.
Mr Corbyn said: “Half a million people don’t sign up in three days for no reason. This is what happens when people are disempowered and denied a real choice by a stale two-party system. This is what happens when people are given hope that things can - and will - be different.
“Make no mistake, this is just the beginning. We are an unstoppable movement for equality, democracy and peace — and we are never, ever going away.”
