Housing secretary also targets Reform as May elections loom, saying Farage more interested in Trump than own constituency

The Greens have welcomed activists kicked out of Labour for antisemitic views and people should be “very careful” who they vote for next month, one of Keir Starmer’s most senior ministers has said in a notable stepping-up of attacks on Zack Polanski’s party.

In a double-pronged attack on the two parties expected to make big gains in the elections on 7 May, Steve Reed also accused Nigel Farage of being more interested in talking to Donald Trump then representing his Clacton constituency.

Some fear a fragmented field of hopefuls from Labour, the Conservatives, Greens, Reform and independents could leave city ungovernable

Paul Tilsley was 23 when he was first elected for the Liberal party in Birmingham’s council elections in 1968. At that time, the UK had an unpopular Labour government facing an economic crisis, tensions around immigration and US pressure to back military action abroad.

Such a backdrop may seem familiar, but this May the local elections in Birmingham could not be more different. Tilsley, now a Liberal Democrat, faces a fragmented field with candidates from Labour, the Conservatives, the Greens, Reform UK and independents all competing for his seat and no party expected to win an overall majority on the council.