EDITOR'S VIEW: Talking bins, nursery rows and a popularity test for Reform UK in South Shields

There's no Count Binface or a fast-track route to Number 10 at stake, but the Harton by-election is not without intrigue.

If nothing else, tomorrow's trip to the ballot box is the first real test of Reform UK's popularity as leaders in South Tyneside. Will they be found wanting or still riding high?

Reform swept to power with a seismic victory in May's local elections with the so-called Turquoise Tsunami wiping out decades of Labour dominance to herald a time of change. The question voters will ask tomorrow is: 'Has much changed?'

In many ways, it's an unfair question. Reform councillors have been in power all of three months. They have barely got their feet under the table, but if a week is a long time in politics, three months can feel like a lifetime.

While local issues will have played a part in May's elections, the restless national mood was a significant influence, and Reform's leaders seized upon it. The rallying call of 'get Starmer out' featured heavily. Reform leader and then-Clacton MP Nigel Farage even made a whistle-stop visit to South Shields to rally support.

Three months on and there is, dare we say it, some optimism in the air. Starmer has gone and the more charismatic Andy Burnham is enjoying a honeymoon period as the new Prime Minister.

Farage himself was on a ratings high three months ago. Today, the questions about his undeclared £5million 'gift', the party's finances and an increasingly questionable decision to force a by-election in Clacton have seen the former MP's popularity wane. And I doubt pitting his wits against a talking bin is going to enhance his standing on the national stage.

But that's no bad thing. Local elections should be fought on local issues, not national egos.

Unfortunately for Reform, the main political issue to have loomed large has been the future of Stanley's nursery provision across the borough.

Reform were quick to cry that the review of these nurseries was a Labour idea. It was. But Labour are no longer in power, and if an axe was to be brought down on these nurseries, it would be wielded by Reform councillors.

If Reform are minded to save the 10 nurseries, they are keeping very quiet about it. Their insistence that 'no decision has been made' rings hollow when staff are being handed their redundancy details.

The final decision on the Stanley's nurseries will take place after the by-election, but it may weigh heavily on the Harton voter.

So too will the fact that they are having to vote again because the candidate they elected as a Harton councillor turned out to be, putting it as politely as possible, a disappointment.

While Cllr Alex Clarke’s broadcast of offensive comments about women drivers and his other crude observations were beyond the pale, he ultimately left his elected post because the role demanded more time and effort than he was prepared to give. Charming!

As such, there may well be a cloud of buyer's remorse hanging over the polling stations tomorrow.

How much remorse is being felt, the people of Harton are about to tell us.

Intrigued? You bet we are...