Labour warns of Reform threat as it battles to hold Worthing council

With just over a month until local elections in England, Labour is bracing for a tough election test – and looking to defy both the polls and a run of council by-election losses.

In Worthing on the south coast, where Labour took control of the council from the Tories in 2022 amid a surge in support before the general election, the party is fighting to hold onto majority control.

LabourList joined local MPs, councillors and activists – alongside Business Secretary Peter Kyle – at the town’s pier as campaigning got underway.

‘You can see Labour values writ large’

Beccy Cooper was the council leader for Worthing when Labour first won control four years ago, before being elected as MP for Worthing West at the general election.

She praised the track record of the Labour administration over the years since, from working to bring homelessness numbers down, regenerating the town centre, bringing the town’s lido back to life and investing in coastal defences.

“We came in with a manifesto of being the fairest, greenest coastal town in the UK – and we’ve made significant strides. Our Labour values of social justice, fairness, reducing inequality, you can see that writ large.”

As Labour are the only party that could feasibly secure a majority on the council come May 8, Cooper stressed that retaining control would enhance the effectiveness of the council to make key decisions, particularly as the council prepares for a transition to a unitary authority next year.

‘We’ve seen really fantastic delivery from the government’

Tom Rutland, MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, told LabourList that the party’s support is “holding up really well” and that, because Worthing council elects seats in thirds, Labour activists are regularly knocking on doorsteps to speak to voters.

“We’re finding a really strong retention of voters from the general election, and we’re determined to keep Labour running Worthing come May, because the choice for voters here is between a Labour majority council and a council run by Reform and the Conservatives.

“I don’t think that’s what the progressive majority in Worthing want and we’ll be fighting for that.”

While acknowledging that these local elections will be “more challenging” as Labour is in government, Rutland remained “confident” that the party would stay in control in Worthing.

“I think voters are rightly impatient for change. Here in East Worthing and Shoreham, we’ve seen really fantastic delivery from the government.

“At our local hospital trust, the waiting lists are down by over 20,000 since the general election. We’ve got over 3,000 children getting free school meals from September across the constituency, and 1,300 children who are going to be better off because of the two child benefit cap being lifted. We’re doubling the size of the Rampion [off-shore] wind farm, which will bring in enough clean energy to meet all of Sussex’s power needs, and interest rates have come down six times since the general election.

“There’s much more to do, but already people are beginning to feel the benefit of having a Labour MP working with a Labour council and a Labour government.”

READ MORE: ‘Give us more time to do more’: Hackney Labour’s campaign to retain control of local council

‘The tactical choice in Worthing is clear – it is Labour’

Local councillor Sam Theodoridi, elected four years ago when Labour swept to power, said that Labour had been delivering where the Conservatives failed to live up to their promises.

Like in many parts of the country, he explained that Reform is the big challenge, with the Green Party not having the base and depth in Worthing.

“The worst case scenario is the Greens take a couple hundred votes off us everywhere and let Reform in through the back door. That’s a real risk here in Worthing.”

Despite that threat, Theodoridi remains confident about Labour’s chances.

“I’ve always been an optimist and I fully believe that we can hold the council, but we have to work to do it. We can’t just rest on our laurels, because if we do, then we won’t.

“I’ve got no doubt we’ll do the work and come May 8th, when the results are announced, we’ll still have a Labour council here in Worthing.”

He stressed that, with some voters wanting to know who the tactical choice is to stop Reform, the answer in Worthing is clear.

“In Worthing, you’ve got a Labour government, you’ve got two Labour MPs, you’ve got a Labour council. So the tactical choice in Worthing is clear – it is Labour. It’s our job to show people that is the case.”

Potholes, potholes, potholes

One of the key issues that repeatedly comes up on the doorstep is, unsurprisingly for a local election, potholes.

Theodoridi said: “I remember some of the sessions I’ve done where I’ve had three or four doors in a road [where potholes have come up], because they’ve had an issue with their car because of potholes.”

Rutland explained that responsibility over road maintenance lies in the hands of Tory-run West Sussex County Council, which also has elections in May.

“The government has given them £27 million to fix the roads, and we want to see that actually taking place here in Worthing.”

READ MORE: Labour launch major attack ad campaign exposing Reform’s record

‘People feel like their communities have been neglected’

However, Theodoridi also said there is also a “disillusionment in politics” in some parts of the town, noting how one ward had a turnout at the last local election of just 25 percent.

“Part of that comes from the fact that people feel like their communities have been neglected.

“There’s obviously the Pride in Place funding, which is one of the things the government has done, but I don’t think people are necessarily seeing that in a lot of places. Where they have directed it at the most deprived areas is admirable, but there’s a lot of areas that are in the same boat but perhaps statistically aren’t as deprived – and I think more needs to be made of that. I think people need to actually see it.

“I know the government are delivering, but it has to be more visible and it has to be at the forefront of everything we are doing.”

‘Only Labour offers the hope of more resilience and a more prideful future’

Business Secretary Peter Kyle, who is MP in the nearby constituency of Hove, joined activists and delivered a speech to campaigners about the record of Labour in Worthing and what is put at risk by the Greens and Reform.

“I grew up in Bognor Regis, my mum used to bring me to Worthing to go shopping on the occasional Saturday because it was somewhere she loved. I’ve seen Worthing for many decades now – and Worthing hasn’t looked this good for a long time.

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“There’s a lot of problems going on in the world right now. There are waves of disruption coming from tariffs, coming from conflict, coming from uncertainty. At some point, those waves will lap our shores.

“The question is, do we have the policies to be as robust and to stabilise our economy in difficult times? Only Labour offers the hope of more resilience and a more prideful future – you won’t get it with the Greens or Reform; all you will get is more division, more extreme policies and it will uproot the interests of working people wherever you live.”

‘Don’t stop Labour before we’ve delivered the promises people voted for’

Speaking to LabourList, Kyle said that people in Worthing had expressed greater pride in their town since Labour took power, and that residents would “put that on the line at their peril”.

“I’m not here to say everything is perfect in Worthing, Sussex, our country or the world right now – but we are taking big steps in the right direction. We are in the early stages of our decade of national renewal. We are delivering pride to places around the country. Don’t stop us before we’ve delivered the promises that people voted for in the first places.”

Addressing the concerns some have about the pace of change and the appeal of populist parties, he added: “My message to residents directly is don’t vote for one extreme just simply to counter the other. There is a mainstream alternative that puts your priorities first – and that is the Labour Party.

“For all the challenges we have inherited, for all the struggles that we have had in office, there is solid progress that I think most people will admit have been delivered – and there is so much more that we will.

Would Kyle run for party leader?

With continuing speculation about Keir Starmer’s future, would Kyle ever consider a run for the party leadership if there was a vacancy?

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