Conservative losses and an election the UK wants and needs
The Torys have lost more local council seats- and a by-election in Blackpool compiled a rough day with few positives
Results from the May 2024 local elections trickled in throughout the following day and the picture of heavy defeat was painted for the Conservatives. The heavy loss of local council seats was compiled with the loss of Blackpool South, which was won by Labour back in 2019.
The swing back towards Labour in Blackpool was huge, with over 10,000 of the 18,000+ voters going red. The Tory vote collapsed across council seats and they lost over half of the seats they were defending, over 130 in total. A poor weekend of results confirmation came with the loss of the West Midlands mayoral seat, albeit a fine margin of 1,000 votes to Labour.
The poor set of results for the Tories leaves them on the brink. Polling based on the local election results shows they are projected to lose 130 seats at the coming election, with Labour forecast 294 to their 242- however Labour would be still 32 seats short of a majority.
Despite this, defeat for the Tories in a general election for the first time since 2005 looks on the cards after years of seeming contempt from a party that is convinced it can do no wrong, despite doing not much else but wrong in recent years.
A chance for the people of the UK to go to the polls in a general election feels long overdue after having three in just over four years. Conservative defeats have been commonplace in the by-elections that have, but Labour falling short of a majority is more than likely and this would be a result of the disastrous 2019 election that saw Jeremy Corbyn’s party lose 60 seats and Boris Johnson’s Conservatives gain 48.
The Labour Party at the next election will be very different to that in 2019. The left-wing elements have been all but chiselled out of what would be the cabinet, and in its place is something else that we’ve not seen in Labour since the Tony Blair years- an overwhelming sense of centralism that borders on looking to the right.
The policies of 2019 included scrapping Universal Credit, introducing free bus travel for those under 25s, and nationalising major industries such as water and gas. A Keir Starmer-led Labour Party has said they will crack down on tax avoiders to help fund the NHS and spend more on the armed forces. Whilst these two policies aren’t bad, they highlight the different steps that the Labour Party will take.
A fresh injection of hope and ideas is needed in the UK after too many years of stale policies and inept people in power. Labour will no doubt be in power soon, and for many people across this country they need to hit the ground running and actually make something of their time in power- it’s been a long time coming but it’s easy to look at Labour of 2024 and be concerned, even if they do win far more seats than the Conservatives.
It’s no lie that the Tories have run out of chances, and have in turn run many aspects of the country into the ground. A fresh approach is needed for the UK, but there is a well-grounded doubt coming from a good place that Keir Starmer’s Labour Party just doesn't seem like the answer.
