"Act now before its too late," Doncaster MP urges PM after election results

The party gained 37 seats in Doncaster, reducing Labour to just 12 councillors and Doncaster East and Isle Of Axholme MP Lee Pitcher was one of 45 Labour MPs issuing a joint statement following last week’s results which saw the party lose councillors and control of councils across the country.

There has been growing unrest among Labour MPs over Government policy – with much of the anger focusing around the decision to axe the winter fuel payment.

The Labour Red Wall group statement, in full, reads:

“The election results were the first big test for the Prime Minister and the Plan for Change in red wall areas.

“Our voters told us loudly and clearly that we have not met their expectations. The response that the Government will go further and faster on the Plan for Change has fallen on deaf ears.

“This is our call for action: visit our areas, listen and rebuild the social contract between government and the people.

“The Prime Minister has shown strong leadership internationally which must now be matched at home. Responding to the issues raised by our constituents, including on winter fuel, isn't weak it takes us to a position of strength.

“He must now break the disconnect between Westminster and the red wall areas.

“The demands raised by new MPs from post-industrial towns where infrastructure is poor with years of underinvestment must be taken off the too-difficult-to-do list. Breakaway from Treasury orthodoxy otherwise we will never get the investment we desperately need.

“The Government needs to it improve messaging by telling our story and articulating our values in the language that resonates and is heard.

“Labour cannot afford to lose the red wall again as it reopens the route to a future of opposition and an existential crisis. Without red wall communities, we are not the Labour Party.

“The Government has to act now before it's too late.”