Chancellor Rachel Reeves says Labour needs to go 'further and faster' following the party's devastating local election results in Staffordshire.

The opposition Labour group on Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council was reduced to just two members in the elections earlier this month, while the party also lost control of Cannock Chase District Council, with Reform UK now leading both authorities after making big gains.

Ms Reeves acknowledged that the elections were bad for her party and believes that voters in Staffordshire and elsewhere are flocking to Reform because they are still feeling the effects of the cost-of-living crisis.

But she insists that the Labour government will deliver for working people here by supporting British jobs and industry.

The Chancellor was speaking during a visit to Dunoon Ceramics in Stone, where she discussed the government's new £120 million support package for the ceramics sector.

Ms Reeves said: "People want to see change. They want to feel better off, with wages that they can afford to live on and prices in the shops and bills that they can afford. And many people feel that change isn't happening quickly enough. I get that.

"We are not trying to sugarcoat these election results. They were bad results for Labour. They were bad results for the Conservatives as well, but my challenge is to understand what they mean for my party. And we do need to go further and faster in delivering that change that people want to see.

"And one of the things people want to see is protecting good British jobs, unionised jobs as well that pay good wages. This government stand behind British workers and the people in the ceramics sector."

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Ceramics firms in Staffordshire and elsewhere have been hit by surging energy costs in recent years, with Derbyshire-based Denby being the latest big name to enter administration.

The £120 million support package will include £60 million of capital investment to help manufacturers modernise and decarbonise, along with £60 million in operational support.

Ms Reeves also criticised former Conservatives who had defected to Reform, saying they 'did nothing to help this industry' while in government.