Party leaders await key election results
Labour is yet to name a candidate for key city poll contest
VOTERS WILL go to the polls to elect thousands of councillors today, as both the Conservative and Labour leaders face the pressure to produce a good set of results.
The Prime Minister faces what Labour calls a cost of living crisis, as well as the fallout from his fine over a lockdown-busting birthday party in No 10 and scandals involving Tory MPs as voters head to the ballot boxes.
Boris Johnson’s tenure could be in jeopardy if the party suffers big losses and more letters of no confidence are submitted by MPs.
However, Labour’s lead in the polls and a series of bad headlines for Sir Keir Starmer’s rival mean that anything less than a great performance could leave Labour supporters disappointed.
Local council elections are happening in England, but not in all areas. More than 4,000 councillors in 146 councils will be standing for election in major cities including Leeds.
South Yorkshire will also be electing a new mayor, as Dan Jarvis has stepped down from the role.
Ahead of today’s votes, Mr Johnson insisted that he was the man that would lead the Tories into the next General Election with the “right agenda for the country”.
Speaking on a visit to Southampton Airport yesterday, the Prime Minister was asked if he would still be there come the next national poll, which is due to be held in 2024.
“Of course,” he said.
“And I’m also very confident we will succeed at the next election.”
On the last day of campaigning, he also told reporters that he was “absolutely confident that we have the right agenda for the country”.
“I have a big mandate to deliver,” he said.
LABOUR LEADER Sir Keir Starmer is confident his party can win back Wakefield in the upcoming by-election, following the resignation of Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan.
Mr Khan claimed a shock victory in the 2019 General Election, after the seat had been held by Labour for 89 years, but was forced to step down last month after he was found guilty of sexual assault.
Sir Keir told The Yorkshire Post: “We’ll put up an excellent candidate and what I hope is Wakefield can have a strong Labour MP that will represent and fight for Wakefield.
“What we’ve seen is a disgraced Tory MP who has been completely absent for over a year, not fighting for his constituents. Wakefield deserves so much better than that.
“The sooner we have a Labour MP there, fiercely defending and representing his or her constituents, the better.”
Labour has not named a candidate to stand and no date has been set for the by-election yet.
Reports suggested former Chancellor Ed Balls was interested in running as a candidate for Labour, but he ruled himself out last month.
Sir Keir was in West Yorkshire yesterday, ahead of the local elections, to speak to voters in Wakefield, where 21 seats are being contested on the Labour-controlled council.
He also visited Kirklees, where Labour is looking to regain an outright majority on the council.
During the visit, the Labour leader repeatedly dismissed claims that he broke lockdown
rules by having beers and a curry in Durham last year as “relentless mud-slinging” and said police have not contacted him since they closed the investigation.
Sir Keir said there was “no breach of the rules”, as he stopped to eat with colleagues while working, but also insisted that voters in West Yorkshire were more interested in discussing the cost of living crisis.
“Here in West Yorkshire, we’ve a brilliant team of candidates and a very positive case we’re making,” he said.
“We’re laser-like in our focus on the issue I think matters most: the cost of living crisis.
“Wherever I’ve gone around these communities people have said ‘Keir I can’t pay my bills, what can you do to help me?’
“We go into tomorrow – voting day – in positive spirits, but I know we’ve got to earn every vote in Kirklees and other places, taking absolutely nothing for granted.”
He added: “So many people, particularly people I’ve spoken to this morning, are worried about their bills and we’ve got a practical answer: a windfall tax on the oil and gas companies in the North Sea.
“We can use that to help people with their bills – up to £600 for those who need it most.
“I think it’s very clear which side the Labour Party is on.
“The Conservative party is protecting the profits of oil and gas companies and asking those who pay their bills to take a loan and then pay it back.”
It comes after Boris Johnson spoke out against windfall tax on big energy companies earlier this week and claimed it would “stop investment” in new technology and in renewable energy.
Sir Keir also described the local elections as “a step on the road to the General Election” and said the Labour Party has “come a long way in the last two years”.
Several pensioners raised concerns about rising energy bills, during the Labour leader visit to Horbury Working Members Club yesterday morning.
Molly Thewlis, 80, said: “Our generation have been brought up to cope and cut back.
“We will survive, but it will be hard.
“I must admit I’m cutting back already, turning things off around the house and doing the best I can to save money on food.” While Carole Bottomley, 71, said she was worried about the rising cost of fuel.
“It’s about my independence,” she said.
“I know have to think about how many times I go out and see people.”
However, Elaine Stringer, 73, and her partner Terry Chamberlain, 82, are confident they can cope with rising costs.
She said: “We’ve always looked after our money and we share the cost of things like dinner and transport.
“We live the life that we should be living and we are not in debt, like a lot of people.”
People say ‘Keir I can’t pay my bills, what can you do to help me?’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.