May 5th has been a great day for the Lib Dems, who won an additional 189 seats, mostly in the South of England. The Greens did well as well, doubling their number of local councillors elected and extending their geographical reach. After support for the Lib Dems dwindled following five years in a miserable coalition (and their u-turns on manifesto pledges such as to scrap tuition fees), this is an impressive increase.
Focusing on the North East, Sunderland Council, which has had its Labour majority wearing away over the past couple of elections, was retained by Labour having only lost one seat. Over in South Tyneside, the Green party won three seats, doubling those held to six. In Monskseaton South, North Tyneside Conservatives leader Sean Brockbank was knocked out of his seat by the ward’s Labour candidate. Newcastle and its surrounding areas remain expectedly red.
Newcastle and its surrounding areas remain expectedly red
However, considering the numerous scandals involving many senior Tories over the past year, the cost of living crisis and a badly handled pandemic, Labour’s 260-odd gain is lower than could have been expected. Some people point to squabbles within the party and Starmer’s poor leadership as reasons Labour couldn’t have scored seats that were pretty easy pickings. Despite a good show in London and areas of the South, Labour failed to make sizable gains in the Midlands or the North. Many of the seats lost especially in the South by the Tories have fallen into Lib Dem hands rather than Labour’s.
It was certainly a bit of a shitshow for the Tories, but given the circumstances it wasn’t that great for Labour either. If any party really ‘won’ these elections, it’s definitely more the Lib Dems and the Greens rather than Labour.