The counting is still ongoing after the by-elections / local elections / Mayoral elections voting yesterday. Indeed, one of the strange things about the reporting of local elections is that the media really seems to struggle with the long period of counting and that the picture might change over that time window. Essentially, whatever, the narrative is at the point the Friday morning broadcast of the Today programme appears tends to get encased in aspic and not move on much, whatever happens at counts during the day on the Friday.
One thing that was very striking about Reform and their possible evolution were the two victory speeches we have heard thus far. Aside from the slightly odd “Dear Leader” comments directed at Farage by both Sarah Pochin (the new MP for Runcorn and Helsby) and Andrea Jenkins (the new Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire), the two speeches were worlds apart.
Ironically, for a former Tory cabinet minister, Jenkins speech was classic Reform – suggesting that migrants who have entered the country illegally should not be housed in tents rather than hotels and mocking the accent of her opponent. To crown it all, she then walked out of a Sky News interview when they asked her questions about the divineness of her comments. This was Reform in its “no one likes us, we don’t care guise”.
Compare this with Pochin. Her victory speech was spectacularly bland. She said that the Labour and the Conservatives were failing. She said her victory would inspire people. She spoke about fairness and British values. Basically, it was a speech that could have been given by an entirely non-memorable, newly elected Tory MP, and in so doing – much more than the combative Jenkins – she might point to the future rhetorical positioning of Reform if it is to keep growing.