Very thank you very much. >> Good afternoon, Barnsley. And I got to tell you that reception uh the warmth of that reception and yes of course you’re candidates and you’ve got a vested interest but let me tell you that’s the kind of the kind of response I’ve been getting across Yorkshire and the north of England consistently over the last few weeks.
This is now week seven on the road for me. Um I don’t know what I’m going to do on May the 8th when I wake up. I’ll sort of be feeling feeling vacant, not knowing where to go. But yeah, I’ve been out grassroots campaigning right across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom, even as far north as the Shhatland Islands.
Um, and it is quite remarkable that reform has managed in the space of two years to genuinely now be the only UKwide national party that is fighting in every single one of these elections that are coming up on May the 7th. And whilst I don’t want today to sound overconfident because that might be a mistake, I believe this.
I believe that the May the 7th elections are not any old ordinary normal set of May local elections. They are far more significant than that given that the whole of Scotland is voting. The whole of Wales is voting. All 32 London burers are voting and there are many thousands of council seats up and down the country and county and counties too particularly in the south and east of England that are voting.
I’m also very very proud of the fact that 4.6 6 million people who were going to be denied the vote because of the connance of the Labor government and the sitting conservative conservative and Labor administrations where the vote was going to be cancelled in some cases for the second year in a row. Uh you know, no taxation without representation.
Well, it worked 250 years ago for the Americans, didn’t it? And I’m very very proud of the fact that we put together that legal challenge and they crumbled. So we’ve brought nearly five million people a vote on May the 7th that otherwise wouldn’t have had it. And I think we as a party ought to be very very proud of that. These are the most significant set of elections that will happen.
the most significant electoral event that will happen between now and the next general election, whenever that may be. Many think this government will survive until 2029. I am rather more skeptical, especially given the state of the UK economy after a couple of quite catastrophic Rachel Reeves budgets. But our big message to voters is a very simple one and it’s a point we proved last year on May the 1st in the English county elections.
No more can people say if you vote reform it’ll split the vote. If you vote reform it’ll let Labor in. If you vote reform you might let the Tories in. What we proved in 2025 on May the 1st in those elections is that if you vote reform, you get reform. And that was a fundamental shift in terms of people’s attitudes towards voting for us.
Now the fast that is going on in Whiteall within the civil service within number 10 and indeed within parliament actually seems a world away doesn’t it from where we’re sitting this afternoon and it’s almost as if there’s nobody I’ve met on the streets arguing the ins and outs it’s just a feeling that we have a totally incompetent prime minister a deeply unpatriotic prime minister.
A prime minister who’s prided himself on being professional, on being thorough and good at everything he does, who we see frankly riding rough shot over normal procedure. The man of process has ridden roughshod over normal procedure. And the very thought that Mandlesson, well, the thought he was even chosen in the first place is quite extraordinary.
But the fact that he was actually put into a very senior position and open to confidential documents and bear in mind that we share with the Americans intelligence to the highest level including nuclear capability. The thought that the prime minister wanted this guy to be there on Pennsylvania Avenue without any vetting process having been done is astonishing.
And there were even questions today about Jonathan Pal, the national security adviser, and whether he had been properly security vetted before being put into that position. A question was asked in parliament today of the prime minister, and you can imagine the answer that he gave. >> Nothing.
It’s the answer he gives every week. Which is why a couple of weeks ago when he point blank refused to answer my question, I got up and walked out and felt all the better for it. I have to tell you my my feeling is he will cling on. He will cling on as prime minister. HE’LL SACK EVERYBODY AROUND HIM. Even if he’s the last man standing, he’ll never ever take responsibility himself for anything that he’s done.
So he’ll hang on until May the 7th. And on May the 7th, things are going to change. And on May the 7th, we’re going to show that if you vote reform, you will get rid of StarMA. NOW, we launched our campaign at the very beginning in Sunderland, and I’ve come to Barnsley for the most important speech that I’m going to give during this campaign.
There is absolutely no coincidence in any of that. What we are seeing in Barnsley and Sunderland and elsewhere is the Labor Party literally crumbling in what it’s taken to be its heartlands in many cases since the end of World War I. I mean, that is the sheer political significance of what is going on right at this very moment in time.
Of course, there are still some people that will vote Labor. They’ll vote it out of habit. But I doubt many will vote Labor out of conviction because what actually is the party? What does it even stand for? A party that was linked and funded for all those years by the trade unions? Well, Unite in Birmingham have been talking to us about how we could potentially end the bin strikes if we were to win control, excuse me, of Birmingham Council.
And indeed, Unite themselves may well next month disassociate formally from the Labor Party. Something is happening. There is a disconnect between this Labour party in Westminster led by Sakir and the communities like Barnsley out around the country that have put their faith in them for decade after decade. Somehow a group of human rights lawyers from North London who seem to care more about vague concepts of international law than the well-being of British communities is part of that disconnect.
>> But another major part of that disconnect and I saw this yesterday up in the northeast. You know once thriving towns like South Shields and everything’s gone. The fishing industry is gone. Manufacturing’s gone. Ship building, well, there’s a bit left, but frankly, not very, very much. And the same goes all over.
And I think, well, we could blame the Conservatives for beginning this. It was Theresa May, of course, who wrote, you know, net zero into law. It was Boris who decided we become the Saudi Arabia of wind regardless of the consequences. But the truth is the cult of net zero has hit these old labor manufacturing areas and communities very very hard indeed.
And yet rather than learning the lessons which he thought Labor might have done no Mr. Biband wants to take this even further. And I find it astonishing because if if we’ve learned anything from Iran, we’ve learned that firstly, we don’t have a Royal Navy. >> It’s almost unbelievable. >> Three weeks and one day.
Three weeks and one day to send a single Royal naval vessel to defend British sovereign territory in Cyprus. And now it’s broken down. 14 years of our services being hollowed out. Another fundamental disconnect with patriotic towns like Barnsley and what is happening in government. The thought that 242 of our former special forces soldiers are now facing potential prosecution for acting under orders, doing things that were national interest and mostly fighting terrorism and yet face potential charges going back over 50 years whilst the IRA and everybody else
are absolved of responsibility. This is this is the most unpatriotic prime minister we’ve ever had in this country. Heading the most unpatriotic British government we’ve ever had in this country and they’re even worse than the Conservatives in the last 5 years and they weren’t very good either. But the other thing we should have learned from Iran as we face potential shortages of diesel, of jet fuel, and perhaps even natural gas.
The other big lesson we should have learned is we have more than enough natural gas and oil both onshore and offshore. And we shouldn’t just be drilling for oil and gas. We should be refining all of those products in this country. We should make sure that energy shortages should be something that can never even be contemplated.
We could we we could actually become quite easily a major exporter of natural gas liqufied and shipped elsewhere in the world and we would have much much cheaper prices for domestic consumers and for British industry. And that is why I lay the blame at both the last two governments for the de-industrialization of the Midlands, the North, parts of Scotland, parts of Wales as we have the highest industrial energy prices in the world.
And Labor too, I mentioned the unions a moment ago, but Labor too don’t feel and look like a party that supports labor. Labor means work. But increasingly, Labor appear to be a party that supports welfare. And yes, of course. And yes, of course, we support welfare for those in society who can’t look after themselves.
But an increasing feeling amongst people who go to work, who probably work longer hours than their parents or grandparents did, who pay more tax than anyone’s paid since the war, that frankly they’re working hard to subsidize the lifestyles of others that live on live in their streets who choose not to work as an option.
So for all of those reasons, Labor is collapsing in these parts of the country and reform has very much become the party of alarm clock Britain. From council workers to the self-employed, it’s people who get up in the morning and go to work or people who have worked and are now retired that form the base of our vote. Now, Labor in the North have had its warnings before.
In 2014, UKIP won the European elections and did especially well in Yorkshire and the Northeast. And then the Brexit vote happened which was literally like a hammer blow to a Labour party in these parts of the country who totally believed in remain and who in government are doing their best bit by bit to edge us towards it.
And then in 2019 when Theresa May made an absolute holix of the whole thing, millions millions of people voted for the Brexit party and then voted for Boris Johnson in the 2019 December general election. So the warnings have been there for Labor in their own heartlands, but none of those warnings have been heeded.
And now I have to say the situation is very very different in the Northeast, the Northwest, Yorkshire, the Midlands, South Wales, parts of land, Scotland. You are now seeing huge numbers of Labor voters not just voting differently for one election, but making a fundamental sea change choice of where their political allegiance lies.
And it’s lying increasingly with reform. This is for real. What is going on here could be viewed by analysts in years to come as the dress rehearsal for the next general election. Now, it’s not that of course we’re voting for local councils and local services, but it is a very important step, the most important step between now and the next general election.
Folks, what reform is about to do in the old Labor Heartlands, let me promise you this time it’s for real. and the Labour Party know it because all they can do is lie. Put out leaflets to say if reform win a government, you’ll pay 50 grand for a hip replacement. Reform will abolish the NHS. We’ve never proposed any of these things.
What we’ve said is we want the NHS to deliver better value for money and we’ll open our minds to find any mechanism that deliver it. And if it’s not lying, it’s just outright abuse that gets hurled in our direction. We are digging far deeper into the red wall vote. Far deeper than Boris Johnson and the Conservatives ever got in 2019.
Yep. I repeat the point. If we vote Starmer, if we vote reform, sorry, not going to vote Star, are we? >> All right. All right. I don’t read off an auto quue, you know. I mean, I’m going to make the odd mistake. It’s allowed. I’ll try again. Sh. If we wrote reform, we will get Starmmer out because they’ll ditch him by the end of May.
What better incentive could there be in these Labor areas to go out on the 7th of May and vote for it? And it’s not just happening here in England. It’s happening in Brexit. Voting Wales. Again, a massive shock. How possibly could Wales vote Brexit when they’ve had they’ve won every single election since World War I. Yet they did. And now, not just because of national government, but because for over quarter of a century under devolved powers, Labor has been run in Wales with the worst NHS outcomes in the country, the worst education in the country, and 20
mph speed limits wherever you go. I was last week I walked through the streets in Murtha Tidville. Murther Tidville, a constituency that was represented for 15 years by Kier Hardy, the founder of the modern labor party and the South Wales valleys that have produced Ny Beavenon, Michael Foot, Neil Kinnock, many of the giants of the labor movement over the last hundred years.
I can tell you that walking through what would have been solid Labor Mirth Tidville and doing it at random unannounced just walking up the street meeting people popping into shops seeing businesses might have fitted a pub into perhaps at some point on the way and I can tell you that I got a better reception there on the streets than I’ve ever had at any point in 35 years of political campaigning.
It’s happening in Wales, too. And we’re vying. We’re vying against ply for who becomes the biggest party in Wales on May the 7th with Labor trailing massively behind. And in Scotland, what is always said to have been impossible. No party led by Farage could ever make progress north of the border. Well, we’re vying with Labor for who comes second in the Scottish Parliament elections.
And the SNP vote as a percentage is likely to be the lowest it’s been for at least 20 years. And if you look at the numbers, you know, as I said earlier, more Labor voters since 24 have come to reform than have gone to the Greens. But similarly in some of the inner cities in some of the inner cities the Greens are going to do very very well and hurt Labor further.
I am disappointed that after the lessons of Gorton and Denton when an independent group independent group of election observers reported so-called family voting. Family voting going on in 68% of polling stations. What does family voting mean? It means the man taking the woman into the privacy of the polling booth, making sure she votes the right way, photographing that vote, and then reporting it back to the person that told you to do it.
And this, I’m afraid rife rife in the Pakistani Kashmir community in some of these cities. Despite all of that, Greater Manchester Police have decided there’s nothing to see here. I’m tempted to draw a parallel >> with the police in Rotherham a decade ago >> when the accusations of child abuse, child grooming, child rape, but no nothing to see here.
and the electoral commission who send out their guidance for how polling stations, local authorities should conduct these elections have made no mention of this practice which has been illegal in Britain since the 1850s. Well, let me promise you we will as a party fight and campaign to make sure that British elections are fought fairly and squarely as they were intended to be.
And that’s a campaign I’ll fight as long as it takes for us to win. But the second big dimension to what is happening in this country is that the Conservative Party, their vote here in the north of England is literally falling off a cliff. It’s literally disappearing. And it’s disappearing in areas where in 2019 in December they got significant numbers of votes and won seats in places that nobody even thought was possible.
Their vote in Wales is now becoming irrelevant. They will finish up with hardly any seats in the Senate and the same in Scotland where they’re headed for catastrophic losses in terms of numbers of the number of members of the Scottish Parliament that they return. The proof of that is two bi-elections. One in Killili for the Senate, the other in Greater Manchester in Gorton and Dentard.
And in both of those recent big bi-elections, the only recent big bi-elections that have taken place in the country, they’ve scored 2% of the vote or less. And sure they’ll have their pockets of strength in south, the east, maybe bits of the west, but the conservatives are I believe after the 7th of May, >> not going to be done is one interpretation not going to be a genuine national political party.
And I would absolutely urge people here in Barnsley and elsewhere in the country, remember this. Only reform has the strength, the power, the depth, and the geographical spread to beat Labor. Not just on the 7th of May, but as we head towards the next general election, whenever that may be. A conservative vote in vast parts of our country today is now a wasted vote that will only aid and assist this ghastly prime minister and Labor government to stay in power.
And so I stand before you proudly as leader of this party, as leader of this movement that I know is bringing so much hope to so many people. The commonest response I’ve had in the last seven weeks in the streets is people coming up and saying, “Please save us.” >> Yeah. Please save us. They can see the country isn’t just in decline.
It’s actually spiraling downwards at a very very rapid rate both economically and socially. Shoplifting, flash mobs. It’s difficult to believe some of the things that are going on in our country. A government that steadfastly refuses to stand up for British people and British interests. It’s hope that we’re bringing.
It’s hope and a belief that we’re the people as we stand up and fight for our principles that we believe in of family, community, and country. And it’s a belief that we have the courage. That’s the blight word to use. There’s another one, but the courage to actually see through what we say because we say what we mean.
And I’m very proud of the 5,000 people that have put their names forward to stand in these elections across the United Kingdom. So interesting to look at their backgrounds. You know, we were looking at the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Parliament lists and you see the other parties. They’re nearly all political apparatics, but I’m proud to say that our lot come from the most diverse, biggest cross-section of society. Yep.
I’m going to say we are now the only literally the only genuine national party who can campaign from L’s end up to Betlands. We’re competitive in all areas, whether they’re conservative areas, whether they’re labor areas, though we might struggle in just some parts of our inner cities, but we’ll still be there and contest and compete.
And we will stand on our record of the 10 majority councils we won last year where a year in we’ve managed to save over300 million pounds of excessive expenditure and our council tax rises have been lower than those county councils run by the other political parties. We now have a track record one year in that shows we’re competent, we’re capable and we’re able to do this.
And as I say, I don’t wish to sound overconfident, but I genuinely believe that on May the 7th, something remarkable is going to happen. And remarkable not as a one-off event, but remarkable in terms of the way that it reshapes British politics and changes British political history in a way that has never been seen in any of our lifetimes.
Thank you very much indeed. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. EXCELLENT. Now I’m going to take some questions from the media beginning with Lucy Ashton from BBC Sheffield. >> Thank you. Um, a lot of, uh, Reform UK’s campaign is based around issues that Barnesley Council has no control over, such as fuel prices and, uh, banning the boats.
One of the things that Doncaster reform counselors do have control over is the reopening of the airport, and they seem to be putting um, wanting to put a block on financing that. So, could I ask why reform councilors in Doncaster seem to want to stop something that would boost the economy there? >> No, they want to reopen the airport. >> Of course they do.
But what they don’t want is masses more debt being put onto a council >> that already is in that already is in deep financial trouble. And so what they need to do is to find a private sector solution to find private money that’s prepared to take risk which means if it goes wrong they lose their money or do their dough or however you want to put it.
Um so it’s not about the airport itself. The principle we absolutely agree it’s necessary. It’s just the way uh that it’s done and what future liability it may hold. And yes, you know, we can’t I mean, you know, Barnsley itself can’t stop the boats, but Barsley Council could say to central government, we are not accepting any more people being dumped in Barnsley in HMOs and have a big fight.
Thank you. We move on to Fraser Mud from ITV News. >> Your campaign here about get Star out. Clearly, I’ve been speaking to people on the streets as you have >> a lot of dissatis dissatisfaction with the prime minister. >> Given the Mandlesson situation, the global situation, do you want to see Karma out or does it suit your purposes better for him to stay at least until after this election? >> Keep digging.
>> I’ve always prided myself on answering questions directly. Fraser, you’ve got me there. I’m in big trouble. Um, I suppose in many ways if I was being deeply cynical, it would probably suit us for Karma to stay. Uh, he is so unpopular and I think it’s quite interesting actually.
I’ve had this in a few places in the north of England. People said we preferred Corbyn. We didn’t agree with him, but we knew that when Corbynin said something, he actually meant it. And Starmmer’s absolutely fatal electoral flaw is that nobody takes him as sincere. So cynically, it might suit us if he stays to the next election. Realistically, if I’m even half right about the predictions I’ve made from this lect turn today, they will get rid of him.
He’ll be gone before the end of May. All right. Thank you very much. Gosh, hero there. Almost went red. Um, Katie Harris from the Express. >> Thank you. Last week you said that you think Kan will be gone by summer. Today you’ve said May. Have the events of the last couple of days made you think that it’ll be sooner? And are you concerned about Labour moving to the left under a new leader? Yeah, look, I said by midsummer he’d be gone.
That was my guess last week. Oh, I think his credibility shot to pieces. I mean, the idea that the idea that not only does he put Mandlesson in and don’t worry about the vetting, just rush it and hurry it, but that Matthew Doyle >> who had to leave government. I mean, Mandlesson Mandlesson’s relationship with the pedophile was a problem.
Although, I suspect the relationship with China and Russia was an even bigger security problem. frankly if we get down to it. And then we get Matthew Doyle, another senior Labour figure with a relationship with a pedophile who suddenly is going to be rushed into a a position somewhere, you know, a diplomatic position somewhere.
as someone said it’s a good job Jimmy Sab’s not still about you know um the the >> well his judgment his actions and his judgment are seriously in doubt I think if Labour get obliterated in the Red Wall and in South Wales and in Scotland uh then yeah he’ll be gone by the end of May because the backbenches will move against him do I worry the party will go further to the left I think it’s going there anyway.
I think even under Karma, I think the relatively moderate changes they tried to make to the welfare bill got smashed down by the backbenches. >> I suspect that Shabbama Mimmude, who I think is sincere actually. I think she’s very genuine and sincere in what she wants to try to do, but I don’t think there’s a chance.
I’m sure that Starmmer realizes it’s the right thing to do. I don’t think there’s a chance of any of that coming to pass. So I think even under Stalmer’s leadership, the center of gravity of the parliamentary party is moving quite rapidly leftwards. Um which leaves the door very open to us. Uh Sophie Church, Daily Mail. >> Uh thank you.
You mentioned the talks that reform has been having with Unite in Birmingham. >> Have there been any further talks with any other unions and have they been knocking at your door or the other way round? No, I mean look, you know, unites over a very very specific example. Yeah, you know, it’s over the bin strikes that have gone on for a very very long period of time and you know, we were very happy to meet them.
I mean, I mean, you know, they would meet anybody that could give them a solution. But the important point is, you know, we’re not considered to be total pariahs anymore. And a lot of these unions realize that many of their members who are part of alarm clock Britain that I’ve talked about before, many of their members are going to vote for us.
They, you know, certainly GMBB and others fully understand that if we carry on this headlong rush to net zero, there’ll be no manufacturing left in Britain, which is the jobs of union members. And kind of in the past, it’s been if you’re the Labor Party, you love the unions. If you’re the Tories, you hate the unions. Well, what we’re saying is, you know, union members are working people.
people that lead the unions may politically on some things been be in a different place to us, but we will attempt at all times to have sensible grownup cordial relations with the trade unions. They’re there. They’re a fact of life. They represent millions of people and we’re not going to turn our backs on that. Thank you.
Uh Peter Schnepangers Telegraph. >> Uh thank you. Um you mentioned there that Stalin will be on by the end of May. Um, what would be the most challenging replacement for you? >> I don’t know. >> Is it Raina? >> Get an umbrella. >> Well, she she likes the pine. I can tell you that. Um, I don’t know. It’s the honest truth to it.
I don’t know who the biggest challenge to us would be. I suppose, and I have said this before, whatever people think of Angela Raina, there is something at least that’s real about her. I just think her politics and it goes back really to the Daily Express question. I think the real Angela Raina’s politics is just way way out left. Way way out left.
And you know, one of the most distressing things is the number of very bright young people leaving the country. very bright young people heading off to Australia to America really worried that if they try and get on and do well in this country they’ll be punished for doing so we’re losing a great deal of talent and so you know even if Raina is more real I mean Ed goodness me um he’s not exactly laugh a minute is he um I think the I think the economic damage of a Raina premiership would probably in the long term help us enormously. Uh
they’re they’re in big trouble. You know, you know, the bond markets are giving you all the signals, all the signals. You know, 10 year trading at 4.95% last week. Um you know, the markets are more the lending markets internationally are more distrustful of us than they are of Italy or France. And that’s really saying something.
and the OECD. I mean, you know, these these are not my mates, but the OECD and others making it very clear that the biggest financial losses over the situation in Iran and its surrounds will be the UK. We’re going to suffer more than any other country because we haven’t had sensible contingency planning.
We haven’t even considered self-sufficiency on energy or any of these things. So ultimately the Labour Party after Star will go leftwards and that might help them a little bit in combating the Greens in some of those central big city seats. Uh but it will actually make our jobs ultimately easier. Thank you. Um we got a couple more.
Anna Gross Financial Times is running late. Running late. Blame the roads. They’re overcrowded. Um >> pothole potholes. Yeah, she got a burst tire. Yeah, it’s not even funny, is it? Um Jack Tolson, Barnsley Chronicle. >> Thank you. Um on Barnsley, how confident are you that reform will win in Barnsley? Win big in May and what is it that gives you that confidence? >> I I look, you know, I mean, I’ll be honest.
I haven’t been to Lab Brooks yet, you know, but but I know that we as a party have a very well ststructured branch here with very keen candidates who are working the ground hard. And if there’s one thing we can learn from Malib Dems, it’s where you have really good active ground campaigns, it makes a massive difference, whatever the national opinion polls say.
So, I just think the party in Barnsley is very, very well organized. And I also think that Barnsley, I mean, you’ve know better than me, but I’ve been here many times over the years. I think Barnsley has a very strong sense of identity. >> Barsley knows what it is. And maybe that family, community, country message that we push just seems to resonate.
And if you look even at the last general election, you know, you’ll find that in Barnsley, we were scoring just over 30% of the vote in a couple of the seats. Labour were about 4850. Uh if you even take the swing in national polls since then, it’s realistic to say we’re up 10. And it’s more than realistic to say they’re down 10. They’re down a lot more than that.
So even on the national swing, you can see why it would be somewhere we’re going to compete. But I think the local effort is going to make the difference. Are we going to win in Barnsley? >> I will be a little bit more cautious but say I think we’ve got every chance. Thank you very much indeed. And Finn Smith from the Sheffield Star.
You’ve spoken about de-industrialization um across the country, but plans recently have been to digitize and modernize a lot of the areas in South Yorkshire. Barnsley has been announced as a tech town quite recently with AI data centers planned. Would a reform council carry on those plans or is it more looking at how you can restore more traditional manufacturing jobs? >> We need both. The country needs both.
You know, it’s madness to close down your industries, to have products now produced in India or China. Those products then shipped back to the UK. We haven’t cut carbon emissions. We’ve exported carbon emissions and we’ll still need traditional manufacturers. But equally, the 21st century is here and it’s an age of tech and it’s an age of AI. It’s an age of digital assets.
But the problem with that 21st century industry, it uses far more power even than the oldfashioned heavy manufacturing plants. And the truth of it is government can talk about tech hubs. Government can talk about data centers. None of them can be competitive with the highest industrial energy prices in the world.
None of them can be competitive and I promise you none of them will happen at scale. And it’s and it and it’s where it’s where net zero, our insane policies are not just destroying traditional manufacturing, they’re keeping us out of the race into the 21st century. And it’s an absolute disaster at every single level.
And I think, you know, people say to me, oh well, you know, what will the big issues of the next general election be on? I’ll tell you what, energy, self-reliance is going to be very much up there. Anna Grace is here from the Financial Times. >> Thank you very much. Um, while I was uh on my way here, turning up late, >> um, um, I was just reading a quite interesting analysis about uh, council seats and it was saying that for you for reform to sort of sustain the momentum that it had last year, it would need to win around 2,000 um, council seats
across England. Um, I guess it would be helpful. Can you set out what would be an incredibly successful good uh election night for for for reform? What would you get in Wales, in Scotland, and in England? >> Well, I think, you know, 2,000 seats is is is the classic. Set someone up to fail.
You know, choose something that is sort of reaching for the stars. Um, realistically, what would be good? Four figures would be good. Winning in Wales would be very, very good. Coming second in Scotland would be remarkable. And winning councils like Barnsley and that is where I’ve set my sights. We I believe we’re going to win councils in the north.
I believe we’re going to win councils in the Midlands. I believe there’s going to be an extraordinary contest that goes on in Norfolk and Suffukk and Essex and Sussex and parts of Surrey and Hampshire. Uh, but I believe we can win several of those, too. So, I’m You weren’t here um for my speech. You didn’t miss much. You didn’t miss much. It’s all right.
But, um, but, you know, as I said, I don’t want to sound overconfident, but I do genuinely think we’re at that we’re at a moment of something changing on May the 7th that isn’t just a short-term protest vote, it’s a genuine shift, shapeshift in British politics. They are my realistic expectations. Thank you everybody.
