By-elections are always tough for a sitting government. Voters use them to take out their frustrations on politicians who haven’t delivered what they promised, without the risk of their vote having national consequences. Opposition parties can promise the world, knowing that later down the line if they don’t deliver, they can blame it on a lack of funding from the party in power.
While many see the upcoming Runcorn by-election as Sir Keir Starmer’s first major test in government, he’s not the only politician with a point to prove. Nigel Farage is attempting to persuade voters that Reform UK is a credible electoral force.
