Helen Pidd heads to the industrial town before this week’s byelection. How will Labour fare in its first big electoral test since taking power? Kiran Stacey reports

Runcorn, a town in Cheshire, has not been the most politically interesting place in recent memory. In fact Runcorn and Helsby has been a safe Labour seat for decades. Then the MP Mike Amesbury resigned after punching a constituent, triggering a byelection. Now Reform UK are nipping at Labour’s heels in the battle for the ward.

Helen Pidd has been out in the town to find out what voters think about the government and Nigel Farage. She spoke to voters who are angry at Reform’s tactics of focusing on migration, but who also feel let down by Labour. She visits Labour’s almost empty electoral nerve centre and notices the optimism in Reform’s office. Even a passing Liberal candidate is struck by the efficiency of the Reform machine and the apparent enthusiasm for it. And she also heads to a hotel that has been housing asylum seekers to see how it has become a flashpoint in local politics.