‘Everyone is fed up’: Reform sets sights on Labour stronghold Barnsley – but Farage still divides opinion

Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, suffered in the wake of the closure of the region’s coal mines. Photograph: Richard Saker/The Observer

Patricia Francis loves her view over Barnsley, draped across the Pennine hills. It sparkles in the July sunshine the day after the general election. The 72-year-old has been here for decades and she can tell by people’s accents which village they are from.

“Barnsley people don’t like a lot of change,” she says, “but they know we’ve got to have it.”