The Conservatives in power in London are mourning the loss of many terms. Behind this is not just traditional protest voting behavior. The Labor leader still has a tough road ahead of him.
In Britain, local elected officials, while not really to blame, are the preferred victims of voters who are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with government policies in London.
In that regard, Conservatives were not expecting major electoral successes in large parts of England ahead of local elections on Thursday.
But when the results come in, like those from former Prime Minister Theresa May’s constituency, they are likely to be quite shocked at party headquarters. Maidenhead has, since Friday, arguably been safe ground for the Conservatives.
Liberal Democrats win
In the local parliament, the Conservatives not only lost their absolute majority. They dropped to third place behind the independents. First place went to the Liberal Democrats with an absolute majority of seats.
The ‘third party’ in the British political spectrum has traditionally benefited from dissatisfaction with the big players, particularly in local elections.
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In the hearts of Conservatives, the ruling party has suffered significant losses – which is also due to the fact that it has a lot to lose there. However, the “collapse” of conservatives that some feared and others longed for may not have happened.
confident sunak
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed his self-confidence on Friday morning. For him, it is particularly important that the Labor Party is recording profits, but that a “red slip” was not initially recognizable.
If it turned out to be a completely “normal” local election with painful but not existentially threatening losses for the Conservatives, Sunak would be empowered – also and especially within the party. His predecessor, Boris Johnson, who brought the Conservatives to their current precarious position through his politics and, above all, his elusive character, should knock less loudly. At the very least, less people would pay attention to scratches.
And Labor leader Keir Starmer still has a lot of work to do, even though Labor won some crucial regions for you in the upcoming general election. Its entry into Downing Street is therefore still relatively likely. But it won’t be a walk.