Why one small town with very little immigration turned to Reform UK

28 minutes ago Share Save Michael Buchanan, Social affairs correspondent and Adam Eley, BBC News Share Save

Getty Images Buxton, with its opera house, was named one of the best places to live in 2024

Here in the heart of the Peak District, there is one main issue on people's minds: everyone in the laid-back spa town of Buxton, it seems, has a view on plans for a £100m redevelopment of the town centre. As part of the redevelopment, the River Wye, currently running narrow and shallow through the centre of town, is to be widened. When the plans were posted on one Facebook group, the first comment underneath read: "Open up the river, yeah so the dinghies can [head] straight to the hotel!" Immigration, perhaps, is the second biggest issue on people's minds - even though there are very few immigrants in this Derbyshire town of 20,000 people, known for its opera house and grand Georgian crescent. It was such concerns that helped Reform UK win control of Derbyshire County Council in May. The rise of Reform UK in the opinion polls, and the fact immigration is now the top concern for voters across the country according to YouGov, is not seen only in the places with most immigration. It is apparent even in small towns like Buxton, that has very little.