Labour has long had a grip on the South Yorkshire town but Reform is hot on the party’s heels after taking a third of the vote in Barnsley South
Patricia Francis loves her view over Barnsley, draped across the Pennine hills. It sparkles in the July sunshine the day after the general election. The 72-year-old has been here for decades and she can tell by people’s accents which village they are from.
“Barnsley people don’t like a lot of change,” she says, “but they know we’ve got to have it.”