Labour ‘have to make our case’ to voters ahead of May contests, Steve Reed says

Labour will “fight for every single vote” ahead of a potentially bruising set of elections in May, Communities Secretary Steve Reed has said.

Mr Reed said the party had a “record to stand on” in office and “we have to make our case”.

Labour’s plummeting opinion poll ratings since the general election landslide suggest Sir Keir Starmer’s party could face a mauling in May across England, Scotland and Wales.

Mr Reed, who was announcing £20 million in funding for 40 communities in England under the Pride in Place programme, said the cash will help areas that were “held back the most under the Conservatives”.

He insisted the announcement, seven weeks before May’s contests, was not a pre-election bung aimed at wavering votes.

On a visit to a church in Slough, he told the Press Association: “This is a rolling programme that Labour introduced as soon as we won the general election.

“What we’re trying to do is give those areas that were held back the most under the Conservatives the chance to make a difference on their own terms, to put pride back into those communities.

“So, Slough is one of 40 new areas that we’re announcing today that will receive £20 million over 10 years. But what’s really exciting about this is it’s not politicians like me who will take the decisions about how that money is spent.

“There will be a community board. They will engage with the community, an independent community chair and local people will decide for themselves how to spend that money.”

He insisted the response from voters on the election campaign trail was not as bleak as Labour’s opinion poll ratings suggest.

Mr Reed said: “We’ve got elections coming in and we’re going to fight for every single vote. Not a single vote  has been cast yet.

“But we’ve got teams up and down the country. I’ve been out door-knocking with many of them and the response on the doorsteps has been more positive than the opinion polls might make it look.

“Ahead of an election, we go out there and we fight for every single vote, and we’ve got a record to stand on.

“Wages went up more in one year with this Government than in 10 years under the Conservatives. So things are starting to change.

“We have to make our case and we’ll see what decisions people make in May.”

The Pride in Place funding could be used for projects including playgrounds or community centres but it will be up to local areas to decide what to spend the money on.

– Areas receiving up to £20 million over the next decade are: three neighbourhoods in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, three in Medway, two each in Barking and Dagenham, Brent, Coventry, Enfield, Ipswich, Luton, Newcastle upon Tyne, Slough and single neighbourhoods in Ashfield, Bexley, Birmingham, Cannock Chase, Croydon, Derby, Exeter, Gloucester, Greenwich, Manchester, Newham, Rushmoor, Sandwell, Stevenage, Stoke-on-Trent, Thurrock, Walsall and Wolverhampton.