The results of last week’s local elections should alarm everyone who cares about equality, justice and human rights.

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As predicted, billionaire-backed Reform UK made major gains, winning councils, seats and vote share across England – making inroads even in places where progressive parties held ground, including parts of Wales, London and Scotland.

The message from voters was clear: people facing insecure work, soaring living costs and collapsing public services are desperate for change. When mainstream parties fail to offer a meaningful solution to a broken status quo, polarisation follows.

In the days ahead, Westminster will offer countless competing interpretations of what these results mean. But one fact stands out. Labour did not simply lose ground to Reform - it also haemorrhaged support to progressives, particularly the Greens.

That matters because, for nearly two years, the Government’s political........

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