Labour’s candidate in a key by-election battle has warned voters Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is not “on their side at all”.
Karen Shore, who is standing in Runcorn and Helsby in a crunch vote on May 1, said the right-wing party is attempting to sow “fear and division” across the country. The constituency, in Cheshire, has been a Labour stronghold for decades but Reform UK is hoping for a major upset with its first by-election victory.
Ms Shore admits it is a race between the two parties and refers to Mr Farage’s party as the “opposition”. And she is not afraid to confront those on the doorstep who are flirting with voting for Mr Farage’s party.
This includes telling voters that the Reform UK leader is interested in a health insurance model for the NHS for those who can afford it – a key attack line Labour has been ramping up for the local elections campaign. “People are always surprised. I always say that when they think that Reform would be better for them,” Ms Shore said.
“I always remind them that Reform voted against the workers rights bill as well. I don’t believe that Reform is on their side at all. I think what they’re doing is trying to create some fear and division in the communities to capitalise on it politically. That’s not what I’m about at all.”
The race in Runcorn has so far been relatively tame compared to some of the toxic fights during last year’s general election. Speaking to The Mirror at a café in Runcorn’s town centre, Ms Shore said: “It’s been an okay campaign. I’ll just say I don’t want to focus on what they [Reform] are saying about me.
“I will respond if there’s a policy issue that’s raised and it’s not accurate. And that has been the case a couple of times, a few times, many times actually.
“I don’t want them to own the narrative, because this isn’t about their narrative. For me, this is about our narrative, my narrative as a candidate, and the Labour Party’s narrative in government.”
Ms Shore, who was born to a Labour-supporting family and raised under Tory Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, said seeing her parents struggle and experiencing poverty as a child fired up her passion for politics. She said after Labour’s defeat at the 2010 election she couldn’t “be an armchair person anymore” and wanted to be actively involved.
“And very quickly after that, I was selected as a candidate to be a councillor. And the rest is history,” she said. Her pitch to the people of Runcorn is focused on fixing the NHS, tackling crime and being a strong constituent MP who can help them when they need.
The upcoming byelection, which will be Keir Starmer ’s first electoral test since winning power last year, was triggered after Labour MP Mike Amesbury quit after being convicted of assault in a 3am brawl in October. He was handed a 10-week prison sentence after punching a constituent, which was reduced to a suspended sentence after an appeal.
Reform came second in the area in the general election, winning 18.1% of the vote – far from Labour’s 52.9% share. But by-elections – which typically have a low turnout – can be unpredictable and reflect the mood of those who are actively wanting to have their voices heard at the ballot box.
When The Mirror visited Runcorn on Thursday, the majority of people said they were disillusioned with politics and wouldn’t be casting a vote at all. But where people were planning to vote, the sense of division was clear – some locals praised Reform, while others were disparaging about the party.
Myra Brolly, 65, a retired university staff member, said she will vote for Labour especially as she’s worried recent boundary changes could mean a shift to the right. She said she thought Mr Farage’s party are “Conservatives on the far right”, adding: “I don’t think they’re going to do anything. They don’t have a plan. I don’t think they have any experience and all they seem to be interested in is people in boats. They’ve no other kind of plans for us.”
The Reform UK fans we met on the street didn’t want to give their name or be photographed. “I’m voting Reform because the rest are s***,” one man shouted over to us as he went into a shop.
BLUESKY: Follow our Mirror Politics account on Bluesky here. And follow our Mirror Politics team here – Lizzy Buchan, Mikey Smith, Kevin Maguire, Sophie Huskisson, Dave Burke and Ashley Cowburn.
POLITICS WHATSAPP: Be first to get the biggest bombshells and breaking news by joining our Politics WhatsApp group here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you want to leave our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
NEWSLETTER: Or sign up here to the Mirror’s Politics newsletter for all the best exclusives and opinions straight to your inbox.
PODCAST: And listen to our exciting new political podcast The Division Bell, hosted by the Mirror and the Express every Thursday.
Another man said he was voting for Mr Farage’s party because he was “sick of all the immigrants taking our cash”, and a third man said he was backing Reform but didn’t know why.
The looming presence of Reform in the town could be felt when we asked two people if they wanted to speak about the by-election and they said no, “in case you’re Reform”.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.