Labour’s campaign focus on London ‘farcical’

LABOUR HAS “egg on its face” after a “farcical” London-centric local elections campaign which has allowed Theresa May’s Tories to appear “relatively strong, if not stable”, a party aide has said.

Tom Hinchcliffe, who advises Leeds North East MP and frontbench Corbyn ally Fabian Hamilton, said Labour was never going to take “unrealistic” target councils in the capital such as Wandsworth and Westminster following months of internal rows, including over anti-Semitism.

After elections in 150 councils across England, Labour had a net gain of 82 seats and controlled the same number of authorities as before the vote, but their performance was seen as underwhelming after senior party figures talked up the chances of taking Tory flagships.

Mr Hinchcliffe said: “It is this failure of expectation management that has allowed the Prime Minister to travel around traditional Tory strongholds to stand in front of her party’s very few campaigners and gloat about how they have stood firm against a significant Labour threat.

“In reality, there was no significant Labour threat at all, and this has allowed Theresa May’s Government to finally appear relatively strong, if not stable.

He added: “With overhyped expectation and a somewhat misinterpretation of reality following months of internal rows based around anti-Semitism, Labour’s spin machine jumped the gun and now has egg on its face.”

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell yesterday admitted the anti-Semitism row hit Labour’s hopes after the party failed to secure the key target of Barnet, an area of London with a large Jewish population. He told BBC1’s Andrew Marr

Show: “Anti-Semitism certainly had its effect, there’s no doubt about it, in Barnet itself.”

Mr McDonnell said Labour was tackling the issue and would demonstrate progress at a planned meeting with Jewish leaders.