Mary Kelly Foy on community action
The results of the recent local elections were, for many, a jarring wake-up call. While the headlines focused on shifting seats, changing council majorities and a new political landscape across the country, those of us in Durham saw an all too familiar outcome. In Sunderland, the neighbouring authority to Durham, we saw the majority of council seats fall directly into the hands of Reform UK.
For many commentators, this came as a shock. For those of us in County Durham, it felt like a case of déjà vu.
We’ve seen this movie before. In 2025, County Durham experienced an identical political shift. We watched as the populist, divisive rhetoric of Reform capitalised on years of Tory neglect, economic stagnation, and a pervasive sense that Westminster had abandoned regional communities. But we didn’t just watch it happen; we analysed it. We talked to residents on the doorstep, we understood the undercurrents of anger, and we tried to pass those vital lessons up the party chain. We warned that without a bold offer for post-industrial communities, the vacuum was being filled by the far right.
Those warnings weren’t listened to, and the recent election results across the North East—and the wider country— speak for themselves. When the progressive left leaves a void, the forces of division will eagerly occupy it.
But as socialists, trade unionists and campaigners, we cannot wallow in despair. We cannot concede defeat to those who wish to dismantle our democratic systems. Instead, we dust ourselves off, learn where we went wrong, and begin building a blueprint for how we fight back and rebuild in the face of this onslaught. This is what we are doing in Durham now.
This mustn’t mean listening to the loudest, most toxic voices on social media, or allowing outrage-farming algorithms to dictate our political strategy. If we consume ourselves with firefighting every online troll, we aren’t doing the work on our doorsteps.
Of course, there are times when we have to actively challenge the harmful, divisive narratives that have begun to pervade some of our communities. We can’t do this by being timid. We don’t stand against the right by watering down our values, or ceding ground on the truth. Whenever we try to mimic the rhetoric of right-wing populists to appease them, we lose. People will always choose the real thing over a pale imitation.
Instead, the way to fight back was perfectly demonstrated at this year’s Durham Pride, which took place at the end of May.
Since Reform won Durham County Council, Pride had become a lightning rod for the new administration. Local Reform figures and their allies launched a coordinated campaign to denigrate the event, stoke culture-war divisions, and strip away what little funding the festival received from the local authority. It was a cynical, targeted attempt to demoralise the LGBT community and erase a symbol of inclusion. They thought they had won.
But where the local authority retreated, our movement stepped forward. Trade unions provided the financial backing and support that the festival needed. Local groups and organisations showed unprecedented support. The result? This year’s Durham Pride was the biggest, brightest, and best festival our city has seen. It was a magnificent spectacle of rainbows, love and iron-clad solidarity, proving that our values cannot be defunded or intimidated out of existence.
The lesson from Durham Pride is one we must urgently absorb: there are far more of us who believe in democracy, social justice, equality, and solidarity than those who wish to tear it down—no matter how loud or intimidating they may seem.
Our movement has never thrived by mimicking the rhetoric of our opponents. The truth is, it thrives on community. This is amply demonstrated by a recent by-election in County Durham, won back for Labour from Reform. There was no magic recipe for success, or any secret campaigning method that guaranteed victory. What won it was a great candidate, a lynchpin of the local community. She ran the community centre. She was visible. She was the person whom struggling residents thought of when they needed advice or a helping hand.
The Reform onslaught won’t be defeated from Westminster. It will be defeated on the ground, in our towns and villages, through the same collective action that saved Durham Pride. It will be won by rolling up our sleeves, being visible and active in improving our communities, and by returning to our traditional Labour values and policies that support our communities.
And we do it together.