Labour must go further and faster, says Chancellor

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said Labour needs to go "further and faster" to deliver change following the party's local election losses in Staffordshire.

The Labour group on Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council was reduced to two councillors on 7 May, while the party also lost control of Cannock Chase District Council.

During a visit to Dunoon Ceramics in Stone on Tuesday, Reeves said the elections were bad for her party and voters were flocking to Reform UK because they were feeling the effects of the cost of living crisis.

"People want to see change," she said. "They want to feel better off, with wages that they can afford to live on and prices in the shops and bills they can afford.

"Many people feel that change isn't happening quickly enough. I get that."

Reeves said while the results were also bad for the Conservatives, she needed to understand what it meant for Labour.

"We do need to go further and faster in delivering that change people want to see," she added.

Her visit to Dunoon came after the government announced a £120m support package for the ceramics sector, which had been beset by financial struggles caused by rising energy bills.

Stoke-on-Trent firms Royal Stafford, Heraldic Pottery and Moorcroft were among those that collapsed last year. The latter was rescued after it was bought by the founder's grandson.

Reeves said the funding package would help the industry modernise and cope with the costs, but admitted more could be done.

"Ceramics brings something like £1.2bn a year to the UK economy and, particularly in this area, it's incredibly important for jobs and livelihoods," she said.

"More than that, it's a way of life and a heritage that we should be incredibly proud of in our country."

She added: "I'm determined to use government procurement to buy more things made in Britain."

Alan Smith, Dunoon's director, said a "huge increase" in gas prices had hit the industry hard and it meant finding funds for investment had become more difficult.

He said: "We are very pleased the government seem to be listening and recognise ceramics is a vital industry for the country."

"The concern is the ever-increasing costs that we have to sustain," he added. "It makes it very difficult to do business in the UK but that's what we intend to do."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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