Margaret Thatcher had a phrase she often repeated when challenged on her strident adherence to her unapologetically right-wing economic principles. “There is no alternative,” the former Conservative prime minister would say to those who pointed out the social unrest and industrial devastation her policies were causing.

Keir Starmer defends ‘tough decisions’ as local election results roll in - Reform UK’s Sarah Pochin beat Sir Keir Starmer’s candidate Karen Shore by six votes in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election.

The votes in some parts of England are a test of a changed political climate, in which both main parties look weakened.