OLIVER COPPARD: 'Reform winning in South Yorkshire is the canary in the coalmine'

South Yorkshire is the canary in the coal mine.

On Thursday, people voted for Reform in their droves in Doncaster. While the Labour Mayor of Doncaster was returned to her job, the Council went from being Labour led to a solid Reform majority.

The people who chose to turn away from the Labour Party on Thursday aren’t lifelong Reform voters. These are people looking for a way to show their frustration at the state of their communities after 14 years of Tory decline, and over 40 years of lost purpose and pride since the coal mines and steel furnaces closed under Thatcher.

South Yorkshire is my home, I was born and raised here, so I’ve seen first-hand how years of underinvestment in my region has hampered our potential and held back my friends and neighbours.

This region, including Doncaster, is one of the poorest places in Northern Europe. If this government does not deliver for communities like mine, what happened here this week will be the story we see repeated across the country.

Keir Starmer had a dreadful inheritance, with public services on their knees and an economy that was barely on life-support. But we now have 4 Labour local government leaders in this region, 14 Labour MPs, 2 Cabinet Ministers, a Labour Metro Mayor, and a Labour Government, so people don’t want to hear about the last lot – they want to see change.

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That’s why Mayors are so important; because we can work with the government to make that change happen quickly. That's why, when Rachel Reeves and Keir backed our plans to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport, people here responded with genuine enthusiasm.

From transport to policing, we know what it is people want to see on the ground, and how to make the change they’ve been promised turn into a reality they can see and feel and touch.

Keir, Rachel and Angela get that. But patience here is in short supply. As the government make some big decisions on spending this summer, voters like those here in South Yorkshire must be at the front of their minds.