Reform 48 hours away from locking horns with Labour in two key battlegrounds as Rachel Reeves joins the fight
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Two Labour seats are under pressure as Keir Starmer is bringing out the big guns on the campaign trail
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The hours are counting down before Reform UK battles it out in two key battleground local council seats as Rachel Reeves has joined the fight in a bid to help Labour retain their spots.
By-elections in both South Jesmond in Newcastle and Grangetown in Cardiff are up for by-election on August 14.
The usual parties are up for election, including Labour, Conservative, Reform, Liberal Democrats and the Green Party.
Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru and an independent are also running in Grangetown.
Both seats are currently held by Labour, but could the tide turn with YouGov polling showing that 65 per cent of Britons held an unfavourable opinion of the party itself.
It's the joint highest level - along with polling from May.
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves out on the campaign trail to support Labour's Owen Bell
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South Jesmond, Newcastle
After the resignation of Labour Councillor Milo Barnett, who stepped down from his role after getting a new job, preventing him from continuing his role, the by-election could be a strong indication of where the council sits ahead of all-out local elections next May.
All 78 seats on the council will be up for grabs.
This by-election, however, is a moment for Labour to gain some momentum in a seat which has pretty much been safe territory for the party.
But, Labour's control over Newcastle City Council suffered a huge blow after former leader Nick Kemp and five others left the party in December.
Heidi Alexander out door knocking in South Jesmond
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Labour now only holds a minority administration with 37 of the council's 78 seats.
Opposing parties will be looking to take advantage of the trajectory.
It will be the first time people in Newcastle will be able to vote since Reform UK hit the top of the national opinion polls.
In a bid to bolster Labour's chances, Reeves was seen alongside Catherine McKinnell MP and North East Mayor Kim McGuinness.
Heidi Alexander was also seen in South Jesmond alongside Labour's candidate Owen Bell.
South Jesmond candidates:
- Owen Bell - Labour
- Jude Browne - Liberal Democrat
- Stephen Dawes - Conservative
- Gavin Maw - Reform UK
- Sarah Peters - Green
Labour campaigners out in Grangetown
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Neil Roberts, centre, out campaigning for Plaid Cymru
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Grangetown, Cardiff
The fight for Grangetown might already be over before it even started with it currently being an all-red ward.
In fact, Labout has won all seats in Grangetown in the past three local government elections.
There's eight candidates vying for the seat with postal votes closing on July 30.
Councillor Sara Robinson standing down from her position as Labour Councillor triggered the by-election.
It is the second by-election in Grangetown over the past two years.
The previous result, in April last year, saw Councillor Waheeda Sattar win her late husband's seat for Labour after he suddenly died.
South Jesmond candidates:
- Khuram Chowdhry - Welsh Labour
- James Robert Hamblin - Welsh Conservative
- Irfan Latif - Welsh Liberal Democrats
- Joseph William Martin - Reform UK
- Neil Roberts - Plaid Cymru
- Ahmed Abdillahi Abdi Samater - Independent
- Vincent John Yewlett - Propel: Stand Up for Cardiff
- Matt Youde - Green Party