War Hurts Labour in Local Elections
Labour
The headlines looked bad for the Millbank massive as it emerged Labour had made net losses of 833 council seats in the local elections. The party also lost control of 28 councils, including York to the Liberal Democrats.
National issues clearly affected the results as Labour’s popular support fell victim to the usual mid-term slump. The ‘Baghdad Bounce’ clearly did not outweigh the ‘Baghdad Backlash’ as councils such as Birmingham with significant Muslim populations fell out of Labour’s grasp.
However, Tony Blair doesn’t seem to have been damaged by the election outcome; his personal approval ratings remain high. Indeed, his current presidential mannerisms makes it almost impossible to imagine him not remaining in power through the next general election, leading us into his brave New Labour world.
Tories
The Conservatives claimed ‘spectacular’ success after gaining 566 council wards in the elections. Leader Iain Duncan-Smith was thought to be secure on his throne at the head of the party following the results. This may be due to the poor quality of potential leadership contenders, including ageing tobacco baron Kenneth Clarke and non-Member of Parliament Malcolm Rifkind.
The party’s share of the vote (34%) was also seen as insufficient to allow a serious challenge at the next general election. Opposition parties are usually at their strongest mid-term. A vote of 40% is usually an indicator of a possible general election win.
Lib Dems
The Lib-Dems were the only party that could claim outright victory after the polls closed with a historic 30% share of the vote overshadowing a modest 193 seat gain.
The Lib Dems seem to have considerable positive momentum at the moment. If only their coveted proportional representation dreams were realised at the national level, Mr Kennedy would be a powerful figure in government as well as on ‘Have I Got News for You’
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