The Conservatives are falling in local elections in England

Huge losses for the Conservatives, good day for Labor and the Lib Dems.

London. Keir Starmer was in a celebratory mood on Friday morning. “There is no doubt we are heading for a Labor majority in the next election,” the opposition leader told his ardent supporters in Medway in south-east England. This is a gross exaggeration – there will still be some time before the next general election, and the results of the local elections cannot necessarily be generalized. However, Labor did well in the English local elections – and the Conservatives suffered a painful slap in the face.

Local councils were reappointed in 230 English local authorities on Thursday, with a total of more than 8,000 seats up for election; The count continued into Saturday night, but a clear trend could already be seen by midday Friday: huge losses for the Conservatives, a good day for Labor and the Lib Dems. For example, Labor won outright majorities in local councils in cities like Medway, Plymouth and Stoke-on-Trent – all Brexit constituencies – while the Liberal Democrats beat southern England cities like Maidenhead and Windsor from the Tories.

This confirms concerns expressed by many Tories in recent months: in parts affected by Brexit, the ruling party is increasingly losing voters to Labour, while the Liberal Democrats are on the rise in traditional Tory strongholds in southern England. Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, spoke of a “groundbreaking result”.

Right of course upset

We are paying for Boris [Johnson] And Liz Truss,” said former Brexit Secretary David Davis. There may be something to that. But the government’s right-wing populist trajectory – including aggressive rhetoric against immigrants – is clearly driving some moderate Tory voters forward. By Friday afternoon, the party was The governor has already lost more than 300 seats.

Weakened Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is out of the election. Not all news is good for Labour: the Conservatives may have lost, but the opposition will have to share victories with the Liberal Democrats.