BACK FROM THE RED
May’s day as Labour falter
THERESA May dodged another disaster yesterday as the Tories did better than expected at the polls.
The PM, braced for devastating results in the local elections after the Windrush crisis and relentless in-fighting over Brexit, clung on in most areas as the party picked up votes from ailing UKIP.
Labour managed to snatch Plymouth and became the biggest party in Trafford, Gtr Manchester. They also made gains in London but were denied the breakthrough many had privately predicted.
Leader Jeremy Corbyn was forced to deny his party had passed the moment of “peak Corbyn”.
The Lib Dems enjoyed a mini-revival, bouncing back from their blighted coalition with the Tories to record their best results in a decade, while UKIP were practically wiped out.
With results from 149 of the 150 councils in, Labour were up 59 seats with the Tories down just 31. The Lib Dems gained 75 and the Greens did reasonably well with an extra eight.
UKIP ended up with just three councillors after losing 123 seats.
Turnout in the biggest electoral test since last year’s general election was 36% – exactly the same as four years ago.
Tories and Labour came neck and neck in terms of vote share, pointing to a hung parliament at a general election.
A senior Labour official told the Mirror: “Make no mistake, this was nowhere near what we wanted.”
Despite Labour gains in many areas of
the capital, the Tories held on to “crown jewel” councils including Westminster and Kensington, as well as key Labour targets of Hillingdon and Barnet.
In Barnet, voters from the large Jewish community rejected Labour after the storm over antiSemitism in the party.
Adam Langleben, who lost his seat, tweeted: “We must NEVER have another election like this.”
However, Mr Corbyn insisted he was happy with the “solid” results. Meeting activists in Plymouth, he said the win there was “a sign Labour is back in this part of Britain”.
Asked if the party had passed the moment of “peak Corbyn”, he said: “No, no, there is much more to come and it’s going to get even better.” But some Labour MPs were unhappy. Chuka Umunna called for an inquiry into the party’s campaign and Jess Phillips said: “My message to Jeremy Corbyn would be that we have a problem.” In Wandsworth, South London, where Labour missed out by less than 200 votes, Mrs May gloated: “This was one of their top targets. They threw everything at it but they failed.” The Lib Dems gained 25 seats in Richmond, South West London, to regain the Remain borough after eight years. They also won Kingston, South Cambs and Three Rivers, Herts, and increased their vote in Hull, Sunderland and Liverpool. Leader Vince Cable hailed “an important step in our re-establishment as a political force” and added: “We stand as the only party fighting for an exit from Brexit and are making gains against both a Tory Party driven by their right wing and a left-wing Labour Party.”
Lib Dem MP Ed Davey called the gains “a sign of things to come”.
Labour lost Nuneaton and Bedworth – an area that often indicates the colour of the government at general elections – as well as Derby. And it fell short of gaining areas like Swindon, Dudley and Walsall, where it had hoped to establish Middle England strongholds. The Tories gained control of Peterborough, Southend and Basildon, and saw a small swing in their favour outside the capital.
But they lost their flagship council of Trafford to no overall control, meaning they have now been virtually driven out of most of the North West.
In Pendle, Lancs, the Tories took back control by reinstating a councillor suspended last year for a racist tweet comparing an Asian to a dog.
With the council neck-and-neck after the results, the decision to bring back Rosemary Carroll gave them a majority.
Labour’s Mohammmed Iqbal called the move “a damning indictment” but Tory leader Paul White said Ms Carroll had “learned from her mistake”.
This was a top target. They threw everything at it and they failed THERESA MAY GLOATS OVER WANDSWORTH WIN
There’s much more to come and it’s going to get even better JEREMY CORBYN IN PLYMOUTH YESTERDAY