Not all the votes have been counted yet, but the Conservatives around Prime Minister Sunak are likely to face a bitter bankruptcy in the local elections in England. The Labor Party and the Liberal Democrats made significant gains.
Labor leader Keir Starmer has chosen Medway for his first post-election day appearance on Thursday. Labor has not won in the constituency in the south-east of the country for a long time, but they have finally won the local elections again.
He thanked the campaigners and candidates. “You guys did a great job. You didn’t just take the win, you brought Labor back with a bang,” said a beaming Starmer.
It is the first victory in this constituency since 1998. It is precisely this story that the leader wants to underscore: Labor is winning again in the constituencies that may have been Labor strongholds but have voted Conservative in recent years.
Starmer wants to underline that his party is on track to win the general election – probably at the end of 2024: “We have fantastic results across the country. We are on course for a majority in the next general election.”
“Conservatives work hard”
Voters were called on Thursday to choose a total of 8,000 council members. The election is the first major test of mood for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives after the turbulent times with Boris Johnson’s resignation and Liz Truss’ short tenure.
The people wanted the Conservatives to deliver, Rishi Sunak said in the morning: “Having inflation in half, boosting the economy, shortening health service waiting lists and stopping refugee boats, that’s what the voters wanted and that’s what we’re working hard on.”
Above all, however, these elections show that many no longer believe that the Conservatives can keep their promise. The waiting times in the health service are longer than ever, inflation is leading to massively increasing interest rates on loans. And because many home loans are shorter than in Germany, the burden on households increases significantly.
Sunak under pressure
Sunak had been able to calm the party down in the past few weeks. He finally managed to reach an agreement with the EU on the movement of goods with Northern Ireland.
On the other hand, he had integrated the extreme right-wing forces in the party by continuing the tough course of his predecessors in asylum policy and promising to fly out refugees who come across the English Channel in boats to Rwanda. This is to act as a deterrent.
Legally, these plans are controversial and so far not a single flight has been carried out. The authorities are still unable to keep up with the processing of asylum applications. There was a failure to set up shelters for refugees.
The defeat for the Conservatives in these local elections could be devastating – this was the picture until midday. Sunak is under massive pressure.
Liberals collect votes
Another winner of the elections are the Liberal Democrats, led by Ed Davey. “These are breakthrough results that exceed predictions,” said Davey. Many voters are angry with the Tories. Based on the polls, experts assume that the Conservatives could lose more than 1,000 seats in the local elections.