By Abiola Olawale
Britain’s ruling party, the Conservative Party suffered a devastating defeat in the council elections which started on Thursday, indicating a massive problem for the party in the forthcoming general election.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is now anxiously awaiting the outcome of the West Midlands and London mayoral contests.
On Friday, the opposition party, Labour, emerged victorious in the Blackpool South by-election, defeating the Conservatives with a record 26 per cent swing. Also, several police and crime commissioner positions previously held by the Tories were taken over by the Labour party.
Of the 107 councils that held elections on Thursday, 102 had declared their full results on Friday night with the Conservatives losing more than 400 councillors, as the party lost control of 10 councils
The Conservative Party, under the leadership of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is currently facing a challenging situation, as the latest local election results suggest the party’s worst performance in four decades. The outcome of the election has raised concerns that the party may also lose in the upcoming general election, a possibility that further strengthens the hopes of the opposition Labour Party, which is seeking to return to power after a 14-year absence in a UK general election scheduled in the coming months.
Despite the poor performance of the Conservatives Party in the election, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was able to breathe a sigh of relief thanks to the re-election of the mayor of Tees Valley in the northeast of England. Though Ben Houchen of the Conservative Party won the election, his vote share fell to 19% compared to 2021. He scored 53.6% of the vote, compared to 72.8% last time.
However, the Conservative Party would be particularly worried about the outcome of the election in the Blackpool South by-election. Labour’s Chris Webb secured 10,825 votes, against the second-placed Conservative opponent’s 3,218.
In his reaction to the victory of the party at the Blackpool South by-election, Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, said: “This seismic win in Blackpool South is the most important result today. This is the one contest where voters had the chance to send a message to Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives directly, and that message is an overwhelming vote for change.
“The swing towards the Labour Party in Blackpool South is truly historic and shows that we are firmly back in the service of working people.
“Our new Labour MP Chris Webb has shown that after years of neglect with the Tories, there is a better alternative. The message to Rishi Sunak is clear. It’s time for a change, it’s time for a general election.”
However, reacting to the outcome of the election, the Prime Minister acknowledged the losses had been “disappointing” but stressed there were still lots of results to be announced.
Speaking at a military base in North Yorkshire, Sunak told reporters: “Obviously it’s disappointing to lose good, hard-working Conservative councillors and I’m grateful to them for all their service in local government, keeping council tax low and delivering services for local people.
“But we have still got lots of results to come as well, and there are also things that I would point to, Harlow for example where Keir Starmer held a rally just on Wednesday saying that was a place that he had to win to be on track to win a general election.”
Meanwhile, in the London Mayor election, the votes have been cast and Londoners are awaiting confirmation of who will be their next mayor. According to local reports, the results are expected to be announced by the late hours of Saturday.
Below here are the names in the running;
Femy Amin – Animal Welfare Party
Count Binface
Rob Blackie – Liberal Democrats
Natalie Campbell – Independent
Howard Cox – Reform UK
Amy Gallagher – Social Democratic Party
Zoë Garbett – Green Party
Tarun Ghulati – Independent
Susan Hall – Conservative Party
Sadiq Khan – Labour Party
