‘There is an alternative to the division and despair offered by Reform’

Councillor Mike Ross, leader of Hull City Council, gives his views on last week’s election, which saw Reform’s Luke Campbell voted in as the first Hull and East Yorkshire Mayor

I have had some time to sleep on the results and reflect on this set of elections. 

It is still early days, but there already looks like some clear points that stand out from what happened across the country as well as here in Hull and East Yorkshire on Thursday. 

Voters were rejecting the two main parties on an historic scale. 

The Conservatives and Labour both saw their support across the area collapse. The Conservatives came third in the East Riding while Labour came third in Hull - this is completely unprecedented. 

Across the country their numbers of councillors collapsed with the Lib Dems getting the second highest number of councillors, behind Reform UK. 

This discontent of Labour and the Conservatives was reflected on doorstep after doorstep, with residents saying they felt let down by governments of both colours. 

Reform has obviously benefitted from this. They had an easy message that appealed to the public. They will now have to deal with the realities of actually running councils and in our case being in charge of the Mayor's office.

Having seen the sort of proposals they are putting forward, you can expect to see chaos where they are in charge. 

For many others, though, they turned to the Liberal Democrats. Over 37,500 people voted Lib Dem in Hull and East Yorkshire. We came just over 1,000 votes away from beating Reform in Hull at their highest point so far. In the context of this year's elections, that is remarkable. Thank you to all those who backed me. 

We finished in second place, not just here in Hull and East Yorkshire, but right across the nation.

That is a tremendous result and shows that there is an alternative to the division and despair offered by Reform. 

I know many will feel despondent at the Reform victory, but I say we should be determined instead. 

Determined to stand up to them when they are trying to take us down the wrong path. Determined to hold them account. Also determined to unite communities in places like Hull, particularly when so many will feel understandably concerned about what Reform means for them. 

I will be doing all I can on this last point in the leading role I play on Hull City Council. The more people who join us the stronger we will be.

I wanted to win on Thursday. I wanted to take on this brand new role for our region. I didn’t. That’s politics. I won’t be dejected – I will be determined. I will redouble my efforts to make sure everyone who I serve is getting what they should.

There is every prospect Thursday’s elections are not a one off but an indication of what to come in the next few years. The Prime Minister says he get’s it, but I see no sign he will change it. Unless this government changes track, they will see more of this to come. Meanwhile there is the usual talk about getting rid of the Conservative leader, something that has been familiar for many years. No matter who their leader is, they are not fit to stand up to Reform. 

At other times we would talk about this being an opportunity for the Liberal Democrats. But I don’t want to call it that. Instead, this is a time for us to step up to the responsibility we have. A responsibility to stand up to Reform and all the division they seek to bring or the wrong policy agenda they will push. Also a responsibility to show there is an alternative for those who feel let down by Labour and the Conservatives.