Luke O'Reilly

6 days ago | labourlist.org | Luke O'Reilly

A trans Labour councillor has resigned from the party, accusing it of having “thrown transgender people under the bus”. Dylan Tippetts, who sits on Plymouth City Council and is chair of the Taxi Licensing committee, said he could no longer represent a party “that does not support (his) fundamental rights”. “The Labour Party nationally has thrown transgender people under the bus and has taken us backwards decades.

1 week ago | labourlist.org | Luke O'Reilly

Labour local election candidates who lost their seats to Reform in Doncaster have blamed Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves for the party’s eviction from power by the insurgent party last week, with one saying they felt like “sacrificial lambs”. Labour lost control of Doncaster council to Nigel Farage’s party after 15 years in charge on Friday, losing 28 seats.

2 weeks ago | labourlist.org | Luke O'Reilly

Do you value LabourList’s coverage? We need your support. Our independent journalists have been on the ground during this local and by-election campaign, which marks the first key electoral test of Keir Starmer’s government. We’ve been out and about with Labour activists and candidates across the country from Bristol to Hull, and will soon be heading to Cambridgeshire and Lancashire – as well as Runcorn and Helsby. We’ve also polled readers for their views on the campaign.

2 weeks ago | labourlist.org | Luke O'Reilly

Karen Shore’s campaign are fighting for every vote as the by-election in Runcorn looks set to come down to the wire. Labour both seems to have thrown everything but the kitchen sink at the election – resources have been pulled from elsewhere and more than 150 MPs have visited – while also keeping Keir Starmer away from the fray. Starmer’s refusal to visit Runcorn reportedly makes him the first leader in almost two decades not to campaign in their first defensive by-election.

2 weeks ago | labourlist.org | Luke O'Reilly

Local election campaigns are often fought on local issues like bins and potholes, which councils have the power to change, if not always the money. But for at least one local authority in northern England next week, events thousands of miles away could be an important factor swaying the results. Lancashire is an unusually fierce battleground for a county council, with Labour and the Conservatives each having won three of the past six elections since 2001.