The surge in support for Labour nationally could help the party break its duck in Herefordshire in next May’s local elections.

Joe Emmett, the local party’s policy officer who attended the party’s national conference in Liverpool last week, said: “We hope the changing fortunes of the party nationally will trickle down here, and we can get a seat at the table to steer policy locally.”

A YouGov poll at the end of last week gave the party a 33-point lead over the Conservatives in the wake of the conference and the new Chancellor’s unpopular mini-Budget.

The local party will decide this Thursday which candidates will stand where in next May’s council elections, where it will put up “as many as we can”, and will have a stall in Hereford’s High Town on Saturday, he said.

“It will give us a window on what people are thinking locally and promote our national policies, such as a new publicly owned national energy company,” he said. “The vibe at the conference was very much about implementing national policies locally.”

For Herefordshire, this would mean more green industry and investment in the NHS, he said, adding: “We should work with neighbouring counties in a more integrated way on health.”

“Herefordshire doesn’t have to be behind the curve, it can be a pioneer in a lot of areas,” he said. “And unlike the current coalition running Herefordshire, we have the national structure and policies to give the county more direction.”

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This could also help deliver an improved children’s services for the county by taking a national structure and putting it in place in Herefordshire.

And with Labour pledging to take railways back in to public ownership, the “doorstep issue” of public transport could also be a way in for Labour in the county, he said.

Further down the road, Mr Emmett intends to stand in the general election, expected in May 2024, against the Conservative incumbent in Hereford and South Herefordshire Jesse Norman.

One online mapping site predicted this could fall to Labour if YouGov’s polling translated into actual votes.

Locally, Herefordshire’s two Conservative MPs “show either no interest in the issues, or self-interest”, Mr Emmett said.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives intend to field a candidate in every ward to fight the next local election, according to the party’s group leader on Herefordshire Council Jonathan Lester.

“We always enter into elections hoping to take back control of the council,” he said. “Herefordshire just can’t afford another four years of the Independent-Green coalition, and we look forward to May 2023.”

The party is keen to hear from some 35,000 households in the county that it has sent surveys to. “We are acutely aware of many of the issues that face Herefordshire, but we are also very keen to hear back from residents,” Coun Lester said.

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