Last week saw the largest set of local elections in UK history. I’d firstly like to say a massive thank you first and foremost to the local members who ensured that we re-elected our Labour Mayor and elected a Labour Assembly Member to City Hall to represent our area.

While the national picture was disappointing, there were causes for celebration: Welsh Labour’s record-equalling tally of seats in the Senedd , Andy Burnham’s 67% landslide and surprise council seat gains in the south and southeast. We as a party must reflect on what these results show us about the political make-up of the UK in the twenty-first century as we emerge from a global pandemic.

The devastating defeat in Hartlepool and crumbling vote share in historic heartlands councils are both part of a longer trend that goes deeper than any one individual. Our job now is to reverse this trend, not to accelerate it .This means adopting a new strategy which recognises that for many of our voters, the choice isn’t Labour or Tory, it’s a choice of voting Labour or not voting at all. We need a progressive offer for twenty-first-century socialism that inspires activists out onto the doorstep and inspires voters out to the ballot box.