Labour falls short as local vote confirms UK political stalemate
Labour has emerged emptyhanded from English local elections where it had expected to inflict deep losses on the Conservatives, particularly in London, with the results underlining the Brexit stalemate in British politics.
Jeremy Corbyn’s party failed to seize the Tories’ “crown jewel” authorities in London, including Wandsworth, Westminster and Kensington, allowing Theresa May to hail her party’s defensive performance as a “success”.
Analysis of the results based on national vote share suggested that, in a general election, neither party would win a majority and would struggle to form a government.
Months of damaging rows over Labour’s handling of antisemitism allegations appear to have cost the party at the ballot box, with the target London borough of Barnet going to the Conservatives, while in Haringey, a left-wing pro-corbyn slate that ousted the moderate Labour council leader was rejected by voters.
The Liberal Democrats enjoyed significant victories, winning four councils and picking up 16 per cent of the vote nationally, while Ukip collapsed and lost all but two of the 125 wards it was defending.
Mr Corbyn sought to put a brave face on results which saw Labour pick up more than 50 seats but gain control of only one council, in Plymouth.
Meeting activists in the Devon city, Labour’s leader denied that his party has passed the moment of “peak Corbyn”.
“No, no, there is much more to come and it’s going to get even better,” Mr Corbyn said.
Mrs May was greeted by cheering supporters in Wandsworth, where she praised their efforts in beating off a Labour challenge spearheaded by the Corbyn-backing Momentum campaign.
“Labour thought they could take control, this was one of their top targets and they threw everything at it, but they failed,” she said.
The message from the elections was that “Conservative councils deliver great local services at lower taxes”, Mrs May claimed, adding: “We won’t take anything for granted. We will continue to work hard for local people and we will build on this success.”
The Liberal Democrats gained 25 seats in Richmond to regain control of the borough for the first time in eight years. Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable, who represents the area at Westminster, said his party was “very much on the way back”, also taking South Cambridgeshire from the Tories and increasing vote shares in areas such as Hull, Sunderland and Liverpool.
“We set out with the objective of holding our ground, winning one or two councils and making a bridgehead in many other places. We’ve exceeded that,” he said.
Across England, more than 4,000 seats were contested in around 150 councils, including all 32 London boroughs.
paris.gourtsoyannis@scotsman.com