𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A migrant who has usually backed Labour says she is now leaning towards Reform UK because she believes English people are being “forgotten”. The woman, who was not named, spoke in Camden ahead of the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.

The contest will see Green Party leader Zack Polanski attempt to take the former seat of Sir Keir Starmer, with Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali also standing. The party has held the constituency since it was created in 1983, but voters approached expressed different views about the parties fighting for their support.

One of those was an anonymous woman, who was wearing a hijab. She explained that she had previously been a Labour voter.

But she said her political views were changing and revealed that she was now considering backing Reform. She told The Telegraph: “I’ve always voted for Labour because I believed in what they stood for and how they supported the community, the minority community, should I say.

“But I think these days it’s not as clear as it used to be. I think maybe I’m leaning towards Reform, to be honest with you.

“I feel like the British people themselves need people that stand for themselves. We expect the government to sort of stand up for minorities and migrants and support them.

“But, why not? What about the English people? I feel like they’re sort of being forgotten, to be honest.” The reporter then asked: “And do you think that’s a difficult position to have?

“Do you tell people that you’re considering voting for Reform?” The woman admitted that she generally keeps her views about Reform to herself because she believes people would judge her for supporting the party as a migrant.

She replied: “I don’t say that out loud, to be honest with you, because the moment you say that, you are judged like, how dare you? You’re a migrant. Yes, I absolutely understand that I’m a migrant. I came here when I was in my early teens.

“Grateful to be here, but also now I’m old enough to sort of look on the other side and see and listen to the other side of the argument to see how they’re feeling.”