UK Elections 2026: 80 Hours in the Most Contested Seats — BBC News

[0:00] Welcome to the Reform Club. This is where, in 1827, Phileas Fogg set off on his trip around the world in 80 days. [0:08] I'm about to set off on my trip around the polls in 80 hours, covering as many of the big political battlegrounds as I possibly can, [0:15] ahead of those elections on May the 7th, and also taking in as many modes of transport as I possibly can. [0:20] That's when I would have completed around the polls in 80 hours. [0:23] So I've just got to Pall Mow, which is where the Reform Club is, and I could see my mode of transport. [0:30] There it is, look. [0:33] To Paddington! [0:34] And the reason I wanted to go across the country to do this, rather than sort of just sitting in Westminster and doing it, [0:37] is because the picture is very different in different parts of the country, [0:40] where you've got not one or two parties going head-to-head, and who's up and who's down is pretty uniform. [0:47] But you've got three, four, five, six, across the country, sort of seven parties really in contention for taking control. [0:55] But we are in the council area of Westminster. [0:59] For years it had been run by the Conservatives, but in 2022 the Labour Party took control of it. [1:05] There's a feeling among some Conservatives I've spoken to that taking that back will be a feather in the cap for Cammie Baden-Ot. [1:11] And if they don't, it might reopen the sort of questions that there had been sort of this time last year [1:16] as to whether or not she was the right person for the job. [1:20] Well, London is interesting because over in the sort of, I'd say, the trendy London eastern area of the capital [1:29] is where the Greens are hoping to make gains. [1:32] There's a big arc which extends to sort of Camden and Islington in the north, [1:36] round through Hackney and then to Southwark and Lewisham in the south. [1:40] So Labour are hoping to make gains there. [1:41] And then you go further out, particularly further out to the east, [1:44] where Reform UK have designs on places like Bromley. [1:48] So I've arrived at Cardiff Station and now I'm confronted with a bike. [1:58] Off we go. [1:58] And here we are at the statue of Anu and Bevan. [2:07] Nye Bevan, the founder of the National Health Service. [2:11] The principles of democratic socialism have not been extinguished [2:15] by a temporary defeat at the hands of the Tories a few weeks ago. [2:19] It was actually seeing local people paying into the Chidegger Miners Association, [2:24] people literally paying in money to help look after each other. [2:26] It gave them the inspiration for the National Health Service. [2:29] When Labour came in after the Second World War in the Attlee government, [2:32] he made Bevan the Minister for Health and Housing. [2:35] He thought the two things needed to go together to improve the health of the nation. [2:40] And again, stiff opposition from doctors, yes, from opposition parties. [2:43] But within Labour too, he formed the NHS as we know it today. [2:47] Free at the point of use, paid for out of general taxation. [2:50] And really secured his place in political history, not just Labour Party history, [2:55] which is why he's got his statue right here in the centre of Tao. [2:59] And yet, the big conversation we're having about Labour politics in Wales right now [3:03] is the polls suggest that that century really of dominance over the past 100 years or so [3:08] could be, maybe, might be coming to an end with reform and Plaid Cymru on the rise. [3:15] I can't help thinking standing here. [3:17] I wonder what nine Bevan would have made of that. [3:24] Right, Lucy, let's do some running and chatting as we go. [3:28] You see, this is when you do feel like a white wally in the top half. [3:32] Welcome to Birmingham, Britain's second city, [3:35] although not according to a recent poll, [3:37] which suggested more people think actually it might be Manchester, [3:39] but I won't mention that while I'm here. [3:41] Labour have dominated the city for years, [3:43] but after the council nearly went bankrupt and they've had the bin strike, [3:46] voters are looking in lots of different directions, [3:48] particularly to the left, independence could play a big part here. [3:51] And then the wider West Midlands reform looking to make gains too. [3:55] So, again, it's something we're really going to watch [3:57] when it comes to those election results on May the 8th. [3:59] Next, a good night stop in Greater Manchester. [4:03] Interesting because it's somewhere the Lib Dems are hoping to take control. [4:07] In recent years, the Lib Dems have made all of their gains [4:10] after their near wipeout after the coalition in southern England [4:13] and what you might call traditional Conservative shires. [4:16] Stockport, though, has remained a foothold for them [4:20] and this time they have hopes of making gains against the Labour Party [4:24] which would give them overall control. [4:26] Well, this is very exciting. [4:28] We are arriving into Gateshead by crossing the Tyne Bridge. [4:31] And I can't come to the northeast of England [4:33] without coming to the engine of the north. [4:35] Well, this is day three of my tour going right across the country [4:45] around the poles in 80 hours. [4:46] I'm at Beamish, the living museum of the north. [4:48] I have managed to tick off more modes of transport. [4:51] I've been on a horse, or at least a carousel horse. [4:53] I've sat in the driving seat of an old bus. [4:57] I found a penny farthing, but I didn't get on it. [5:00] The whole thing looks slightly terrifying. [5:02] And, of course, we've been talking about the politics in the northeast, [5:05] Gateshead in particular, [5:07] where the Labour Party has dominated for years [5:09] but reform are looking to make gains. [5:12] And that's been the sort of message throughout this week, really. [5:17] Now, obviously, during local elections, [5:19] transport infrastructure is a very important issue for lots of people. [5:23] So where better to discuss that than on some dodgems [5:26] with Richard Moss, the actual BBC political editor for the northeast? [5:30] Well, the problem in Gateshead has been a flyover [5:33] that was the main link between Gateshead and Newcastle. [5:38] But at the end of 2024, they discovered it was falling down. [5:42] At one stage, it stopped the time that we're in Metro as well. [5:46] You can look at it two ways. [5:47] In one way, it sums up austerity for councils. [5:51] Gateshead council couldn't do anything about it for many years, [5:54] couldn't afford to. [5:55] Asked governments for money to do something about it, [5:58] didn't get anywhere. [5:59] But you could also see it as being also a sign, [6:02] I'm sure the opposition would, [6:03] of kind of neglect of Gateshead's infrastructure. [6:06] There were some checks, I think, [6:07] that the council had failed to do as regularly as perhaps they should have done. [6:11] So I'm in England, [6:17] and now I'm in Scotland! [6:21] The seatbelt on. [6:23] We're going up a nice seatbelt. [6:25] It's absolutely glorious weather. [6:27] Right, here we go. [6:29] We're up over the brow. [6:31] Around the first bend. [6:33] It's a bit twisty. [6:35] To the right, to the left! [6:37] Very big turn! [6:39] A lot of fun! [6:42] Well, this is day four of my tour around the poles in 80 hours. [6:45] I am outside the Scottish Parliament building, [6:48] and I suppose as my tour comes to an end, [6:51] I've reflected a bit on the conversations I've been having. [6:53] Nobody really knows what's going to happen. [6:55] We can feel that voters are scattering across the political spectrum. [6:58] Who is in power? [6:59] Here in Edinburgh, [7:00] in the Welsh Senate, [7:01] in council halls across England, [7:04] it's going to matter to the people who live there because of the decisions they make. [7:08] But it could also have a massive impact on our national politics too. [7:11] And questions may be asked about any number of party leaders, [7:15] depending on how they get on. [7:17] And in the end, [7:18] that's what makes politics so interesting. [7:20] Not knowing the outcome, [7:21] waiting for those votes to be cast in the ballot. [7:23] So as I end my journey after 80 hours, [7:28] it's just quite exciting to have to wait and see what's going to happen on May the 7th.