Film producer turned would-be Chelsea councillor Alexa Jago has been out on the streets of Chelsea Riverside canvasing all week. What she is hearing dozens of times a day is that there is no longer any such thing as a traditional Labour or Tory vote that can be taken for granted. All votes are up for grabs.  According to recent data from YouGov, Reform UK is on course to make some of its strongest gains yet in the capital’s May elections, as support fragments away from the two main parties. But in Kensington and Chelsea — a borough held by the Conservatives for more than 60 years — the question is not simply whether Reform or the Greens can break through, but why voters are willing to consider it.   The Tories have held control of Kensington and Chelsea Council ever since 1965. The Borough was first created under the London Government Act of 1963 by merging the former metropolitan boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea.  For Reform or the Greens to take over would be historic. But with both the Greens and Reform ahead of Labour and the Tories in the polls, is winning seats in such a Tory stronghold now possible?  Jago, one of three Reform UK candidates standing in Chelsea Riverside, believes the answer lies less in ideology and more in something simpler: presence. “We didn’t even announce our names until very recently,” she says. “So we haven’t relied on social media. This has been about going out, knocking on doors, and actually speaking to people.” Her campaign is notably low-cost. There are no large-scale advertising efforts, no visible infrastructure beyond leaflets and a small team of volunteers. Instead, it is built on what she describes as “human equity” — time spent on the ground rather than money spent on messaging. That approach appears to be cutting through in a ward marked by sharp contrasts. On the World’s End Estate, residents raise concerns about lifts that fail and leave elderly tenants effectively housebound. A short walk away, around Paultons Square, the issues shift to theft, vandalism and safety. “If there’s one thing that comes up more than anything else, it’s security,” Jago says. “Women, elderly residents, families — they don’t feel as safe as they should. And then very quickly the conversation turns to cost of living, energy bills, and the feeling that no one is listening.” She says one of the clearest frustrations residents raise is the gap between visible policing and public reassurance. “People know the police are there, but they don’t feel their presence in the way they once did,” she says. “The nearest police station properly open to the public for many residents is now Charing Cross. We’ve lost that sense of the local bobby on the beat — and with it, a feeling of everyday security.” She says what frustrates voters most is not ideology, but abandonment. “People report things and never hear back. They feel ignored. That comes up again and again.” For a borough long dominated by Conservative councillors, that presents an obvious challenge. But Jago argues Labour is not yet benefiting from that frustration. “Life-long Labour voters tell me Labour doesn’t feel like Labour anymore,” she says. “And Conservatives feel betrayed too. There’s disillusionment on both sides.” She points to issues ranging from cuts to winter fuel support to rising local pressures on housing, policing and GP access — and to what she sees as a growing credibility problem around Labour’s economic promises. “Labour said they wouldn’t raise taxes on working people,” she says. “Then Rachel Reeves delivered the biggest tax-raising Budget in a generation. People notice that. They feel they were told one thing and given another.” She says that sense of broken trust runs through both national and local politics. “People feel the established parties say one thing before elections and something very different afterwards. That trust has broken down.” Locally, she says misinformation is also becoming part of the political battle. “There are people going around claiming Reform would get rid of twice-weekly rubbish collection or borough-wide parking protections. It’s simply not true.” With Kensington and Chelsea council facing financial pressure and residents increasingly frustrated over services, she believes voters are looking less for ideology and more for competence. “Whether it’s national politics or local council decisions, people feel they’re constantly being told one thing and then seeing another. People want honesty. They want delivery. They want to know someone is actually looking after their neighbourhood.”...