Jo Platt MP: Labour’s heartlands are sending us a message and we must listen

What happened wasn’t a blip or a protest vote: it was a wholesale rejection of a party that once grew out of and fought for places exactly like ours.  

The Labour movement was born from places like Leigh and Atherton, from the factories, pits, mills and dockyards that built modern Britain.

It was a movement rooted in working-class pride, solidarity, security and national purpose.

Those values once defined our movement.

Today, people are losing faith.

The people of Leigh and Atherton have given their verdict on the first two years of the Labour Government.

I won’t pretend this came out of nowhere; the warning signs have been building for some time.

Nevertheless, it was painful to see Wigan suffer a complete wipe-out of every hardworking Labour councillor.

Even in 2019, after losing the general election, Labour still held two wards.

To put it plainly, we got a kicking. 

What has stayed with me most is the conversations on the doorstep leading up the elections. 

Again and again, people told me:  “I have voted Labour my whole life, but now I cannot vote Labour because I cannot vote for Keir Starmer.” 

On polling day, a woman stopped me and said: “I’ve reluctantly voted Labour - but you need to sort out what’s going on at the top.”

She was right and so were many others.

People who did vote Labour are not voting with belief; they are voting with diminishing hope.

When hope disappears, voters will look elsewhere - including to parties that thrive on anger, division and destruction.

At the same time, it would be wrong to ignore what this Government has achieved since it came into office in 2024.

Much of Labour’s work in office has gone underreported.

I am incredibly proud to support the Government that has passed more than 50 Acts of Parliament already, legislation that will deliver significant reforms across the country and will undoubtedly transform lives of people in Leigh and Atherton.

These include stronger protections for workers through the Employment Rights Act; bringing railways back into public ownership; establishing Great British Energy to help deliver clean power and lower bills; reducing NHS waiting lists; ending Section 21 no-fault evictions for renters; measures to tackle violence against women and girls; stronger action on anti-social behaviour; and greater devolution to give communities more control over their futures.

These are just a few examples of the substantial progress this Government has made so far, and they reflect a clear expression of Labour values: fairness, security, and public service.

Despite this, the reality is that this progress is not being felt quickly enough by the people we were elected to serve, and Labour heartlands are now collapsing in front of us as a result.

Too many people simply do not feel any meaningful change in their daily lives and people are understandably impatient.

That disconnect is now one of the Government’s greatest political problems.

People hear promises of growth, but they struggle to see where that growth exists in towns like Leigh and Atherton.

Instead, they see high streets hollowed out and replaced with vape shops and empty units.

Local businesses and small firms are not lacking ambition, they are lacking investment, support and confidence that their communities have a future worth building in.

Young people especially feel this loss of hope – they do not believe they will enjoy the security or opportunities previous generations once expected as a basic part of life.

Meanwhile, the Reform Party has filled the vacuum. 

The old political norms have collapsed and in many working-class towns, people now see Reform as the only force willing to tear down a broken system.

I understand the frustration.

After decades of economic decline, voters are angry, frustrated and exhausted.

But destruction alone is not renewal.

The danger is that in tearing everything down, we also destroy the institutions working people rely on most - the NHS, local services and the fragile social fabric holding communities together. 

Yet people are willing to take the risk because they no longer feel like the status quo offers them anything better. 

A large part of the problem that the Labour Government faces now is communication, messaging and a clear sense of direction from the top.

Labour must once again be able to explain who we are, what we stand for and whose side we are on.

We need to give the public hope that Labour can still offer radical solutions to fix the substantial issues our country is facing.

I think it is completely fair to acknowledge that this Labour Government has inherited a huge mess from the 14 years of Conservative Government – including billions of pounds of overspending and borrowing, leaving a lot of our public services, institutions and communities in dire states.

Thatcher’s deindustrialisation, privatisation of essential industries and political neglect of the so-called “red wall” areas like mine is still felt today with many of the social foundations that sustained Labour communities being hollowed out.

Unfortunately, we as a party have not yet done enough to rebuild them.

We need to rise to the occasion with bold action.

Putting the people of Leigh and Atherton and the country first, and putting aside Party politics.

Our movement was founded to give working people power, dignity, security and opportunity.

Labour governments achieved their greatest successes when they were bold, confident and unapologetic about standing with working people.

That was true when Labour founded the NHS, built secure and affordable housing, brought key industries into public ownership, introduced the minimum wage and advanced equality under the law.

Labour changed Britain because it understood that people need compassion, fairness, stability and the chance to build a better life.

Those values remain relevant today.

If Labour is to rebuild trust in places like Leigh and Atherton, we must return to a politics rooted in working-class betterment, community pride, economic security and fairness.

That means confronting inequalities people experience every day.

Take Council Tax for example. In towns like mine, many people in modest homes pay a far greater proportion of their income than households in far wealthier areas.

A Labour Government serious about fairness cannot ignore systems that entrench inequality at local level.

The same is true of VAT. At present, we tax the renovation and repair of existing buildings while new buildings are zero-rated.

This backward incentive merely discourages investment in the buildings and high streets we already have.

By removing this VAT burden, we can rebuild our high streets as well as create jobs in our towns.

Equally, we must become far more serious about place-based politics.

National announcements and industrial strategies mean little if towns like Leigh and Atherton are treated as an afterthought, and people cannot see tangible improvements in their own communities.

People want thriving high streets, decent jobs, affordable homes, safe streets and pride in the places they live.

That is why initiatives focused on local renewal and community voice are so important.

People want to feel ownership over the future of their towns again. The Government’s Pride in Place programme is hugely positive and rightly recognises that communities must lead change in their area.

The principle behind this initiative is unprecedented in British politics – Whitehall handing communities the power to invest in their areas.

We have an opportunity to build on this, delivering results quickly and communicating to the public just how significant this is.

This week marked the King’s Speech and the State Opening of Parliament.

It’s a ceremony full of history and symbolism. But beyond the tradition, it’s also an important moment in setting out the Government’s planned legislation and priorities for the year ahead.

I believe in the future of the Labour Party because I believe progress is coming.

The Government’s agenda sets out a clear direction of travel, focused on stability, renewal, and improving the lives of working people. Of course, people will rightly judge success not by promises, but by whether their daily lives genuinely improve.

Change can often feel slower than any of us would like, particularly after such a long period of instability, but meaningful progress takes time. I truly believe that, in the years ahead, people will begin to feel the benefits of these changes through stronger public services, greater economic security, and a renewed sense that the country is moving forward again.

The challenge we face now is rebuilding trust in our heartland areas.

We need to restore people’s faith by listening to our communities and actually delivering for them.

To do that, Labour must also be honest about where it stands politically and whether the current leadership can reconnect the Party with its traditional heartlands.

It is my duty to push for this renewal at the top, so my constituents can feel the benefits of a Labour Government.

Keir Starmer is an honourable man who has served with professionalism and integrity.

I do not doubt that he entered politics for the right reasons, with a sincere desire to improve the lives of working-class people.

But across Leigh and Atherton, and in many communities like ours, people no longer believe Labour under his leadership understands their lives or reflects their priorities.

That is why I believe the Prime Minister should now set out a clear and orderly timetable for his resignation.

The country does not need political instability.

But nor can Labour continue pretending these results are isolated warnings while support collapses across communities that once formed the backbone of our movement.

The Labour Party must now allow a genuine debate about its future direction.

The NEC should reform its rules to allow Andy Burnham to stand in a by-election and seek the leadership if he chooses to do so.

Burnham - former MP for Leigh and now Mayor of Greater Manchester - has consistently demonstrated an understanding of working-class communities, alongside the ability to deliver across diverse areas and political divides.

Whether through him or through broader renewal, Labour must rediscover a politics rooted in contribution, belonging and solidarity.

Ultimately, the question facing Labour is a simple one: who are we here to represent?

For generations, the answer was clear. Labour existed to be the voice of working people.

We cannot allow the Party to drift away from them now.

I am committed to standing up for the people I was elected to serve and that means delivering.

There is time to rebuild trust and show that politics can improve people’s lives.

But only if the Labour leadership is willing to listen honestly, speak clearly about its values, and once again become the national party of working people.