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Labour Trounced, But Tory Success Still Limited

Labour appeared to have avoided a meltdown, but lost overall control of seven councils, including Stoke-on-Trent, Bury, Redditch, Derby and Camden. The Conservatives won Bassetlaw, Shrewsbury, Atcham, Crawley, Winchester, Harrow and Coventry. Labour said the results showed a “North-South divide”, with Conservatives making progress in the capital but making little impact in the north of […]

Labour appeared to have avoided a meltdown, but lost overall control of seven councils, including Stoke-on-Trent, Bury, Redditch, Derby and Camden.

The Conservatives won Bassetlaw, Shrewsbury, Atcham, Crawley, Winchester, Harrow and Coventry.

Labour said the results showed a “North-South divide”, with Conservatives making progress in the capital but making little impact in the north of England. A senior party aide pointed to the Tories’ failure to win a single seat in cities such as Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle. ~The Daily Telegraph

According to a later Telegraph report, total Labour losses exceeded 250 council seats and they lost control of 16 councils around the country. The failure of the Tories to make any dent in northern urban areas shows the enduring disconnect between the modern party and the people in the north. The Tories have managed to win close to 40% of the vote nationwide, but their power remains (as it has been for decades) narrowly based in the south with London as a very unreliable base of support. To read this correctly, it is important to understand this was the explosion of all the pent-up resentments against Blair that have been building with increasing intensity for over five years. People finally had their protest vote when there was no danger of changing who would sit in national Government. When it comes time for the next general election, the alternative will still be between the toffy Cameron and the jocund Gordon Brown, and on policy the electorate has so far shown no sign in any general election of repudiating the current Government’s positions. Conservatives here and in Britain should not get too excited about Cameron’s “successful” leadership just yet.

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