Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Fashion Central
The Fashion Central
Michael Gibson

The Key Lesson Keir Starmer Must Learn from Reform UK's Victory

(Omar Havana/PA Wire)

Labour didn’t just lose local elections last week — they got absolutely flattened. Reform UK didn’t sneak in quietly either. They stormed in, grinning, and started swinging at anything they didn’t like the look of.

They now control councils across Lincolnshire, and the new Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, Andrea Jenkyns, wasted no time promising to sack all the “DEI officers”. Only issue? There aren’t any. Not in the way she’s imagining. No woke battalions hiding in the shadows of Skegness, no secret army of progressive pen-pushers. But that doesn’t matter, because the culture war doesn’t need facts – it just needs targets, reported the Express.

What she and her party are planning isn’t about efficiency or even ideology. It’s resentment masquerading as reform. Their approach? If it sounds modern, inclusive, or remotely green, burn it. Wind turbines? Bad. Electric cars? Worse. Solar farms? Definitely on the hit list.

But here’s what they’re not telling you – those green projects they want scrapped are putting thousands of working-class Brits in solid, skilled jobs. We’re talking about real people: scaffolders, welders, sparkies, site managers. Young apprentices straight out of college, finally earning proper pay doing work that matters – work that literally powers homes, schools and businesses. This isn’t just about “going green” – it’s about making a living.

The irony? Reform claims to be for the workers, yet they’re threatening the very jobs giving these communities a future. They bang on about “the people”, while trying to scrap the very projects breathing new life into old industrial estates. They don’t want a better future. They want a fantasy of the past – a version of Britain where nothing changes, and no one challenges them.

And it’s not just the jobs under threat. They’ve decided only the Union Jack and St George’s Cross can fly on council buildings. Sounds patriotic, until you realise it means local county flags like Lincolnshire’s own banner are banned. Even the Royal Standard, if the King visits, is off limits. That’s not tradition – that’s cosplay politics.

Let’s be honest, Reform isn’t offering jobs or better schools. They’re selling outrage. And it’s council staff, skilled labourers, and ordinary families who’ll feel the heat from their bonfire of the modern world.

Labour’s failure was playing it safe. People don’t want spreadsheets and vague pledges. They want to know there’s a place for them in the world that’s coming. Because right now, Reform’s promising to blow it all up – and the rest of us are standing in the blast zone.

Don’t Miss These:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.