Anyone on the left who still thinks Reform are a protest movement or just going to go away needs to get their head in the real world - of course there is context that these are only local elections, but there is a very clear trend evidenced by all sorts of polling. This is just the latest proof.
The level of apathy most people currently have with our political system, and consequently the two established parties, is enormous - that apathy has to lead them somewhere, and at the moment the left are offering no alternative at all. Reform are.
They poll well amongst youngsters who see that their personal prospects are shite, and never mind not offering an alternative, much of the left won't even acknowledge that is the case.
The centrists and Labour right who have taken complete control of the party are barrelling us towards a Reform government, and unless Labour have a major, major change in approach, that is undoubtedly where we will end up.