‘We have let them come on to our ground’: Labour fights off Green gains in Leeds

In Roundhay, one of its safest wards, activists say the party must win back progressive voters as support drifts to the Greens On the wide streets around Leeds’ Roundhay Park, Labour canvassers have built up a considerable step count just to walk between each of the stone-built mansions in one of the city’s most affluent suburbs. Lucy Powell, Labour’s deputy leader, is with activists in the sunshine admiring the manicured lawns and window-box pansies. This is one of the safest wards for Labour in Leeds, with graduates, doctors, lecturers and small business owners. In years gone by, voters in these houses with sweeping driveways and climbing roses would have been natural Conservatives. A short walk away is Roundhay school, the alma mater of Liz Truss, a place she amusingly tried to paint as the wrong side of the tracks. But now Labour councillors in the ward have a different adversary – the Green party. It is in these wealthy areas, as well as the more diverse suburbs and student population, that the Greens are making gains. “There’s no question these are going to be difficult elections,” Powell said as she stops at the church’s community cafe. “Look at where we ar