DC Edit | Trouble grows for UK Tories
The ruling Conservative Party in Britain suffered substantial losses across England, Wales and Scotland, losing more than 480 council seats in local elections even as the writing on the wall had dried, with the Tories also losing a Parliament seat in the Blackpool bypoll where there was a 26 per cent swing.
The only silver lining for the Rishi Sunak-led government, if it can be called that, is that the UK is less convinced about whom they want instead of the Tories to rule them as general elections, to be held by January 2025, are just round the corner.
A projected vote share in the local polls put Labour on 35 per cent, Tories on 26 per cent and the Lib Dems on 20 per cent, with the latter gaining much with 12 councils and 405 councillors. At least one conclusion drawn from this is that there could be a hung Parliament though the Labour Party, which also saw its London Mayor Sadiq Khan, romp home for the third time, this time with an even bigger majority, is most sanguine about forming the next government. Nearly 250 Green councillors were also elected, showing how much the discontent with the Tories has spread with all other parties gaining.
By any metric, this was the Tories’ worst performance in local council elections in nearly 20 years and it does seem the time is up for Mr Sunak who has shepherded a divided Tory party for close to 18 months now. As Prime Minister, he could well have been the wrong person in power at the wrong time, as the UK political landscape is changing fast with a distinct swing away from the Conservative Party that has been in power since 2010.
In real terms, wages may have been stagnant in the UK since the financial meltdown of 2008, falling living standards coupled with less spending on national healthcare in times of the 2010s austerity and NHS problems having added to post-Brexit anxieties. A totally confused Tory leadership took such image hits after Covid struck that Mr Sunak ultimately became the man picked to keep the show on the road while striving not to upset any wings of his party.
But in the face of increasing resistance to migration, Tory plans seem too little, coming too late, as an intended swing to the right in a protectionist, anti-immigrant, anti-woke direction may not save the party from impending defeat. Prime Minister Sunak must be dreading the date he has to pick for the general elections.