Major Uk Parties Hit by Brexit Backlash in Local Polls
The Conservatives and Labour have faced a backlash at the
ballot box over the Brexit deadlock, with smaller parties and independents
winning seats.
In England so far, the Tories have lost more than 530 seats
and 22 English councils, while the Liberal Democrats have gained more than 340
seats.
National politics seems to have been a deciding factor for
voters, with Labour also losing almost 80 seats to date.
Council results continue to come in for England and Northern
Ireland.
Almost 130 English councils had declared by 12:50 BST, with
counting under way in many other local authorities
The first Northern Irish results are also starting to
be announced. No local elections are taking place in Scotland and Wales.
MPs have yet to agree on a deal for leaving the European
Union, and as a result, the deadline of Brexit has been pushed back from
29 March to 31 October.
While local elections give voters the chance to choose the
decision-makers who affect their communities, the national issue loomed large
on the doorstep.
The Conservatives have lost control of councils including
Peterborough, Basildon and St Albans. Labour has lost control of Hartlepool,
Bolsover and Wirral
Labour has also lost its mayoral post in Middlesbrough to an
independent
The Conservatives have won Walsall and North East
Lincolnshire - both of which had no party with overall control before
The Liberal Democrats have gained councils including
Winchester, North Norfolk, Cotswold, Bath and North East Somerset and Vale of
White Horse
Labour has won Trafford - a former Conservative stronghold
Where independent candidates have been standing, they have
won on average 25% of the vote - and independents have taken control of two
councils - Ashfield and North Kesteven
The Green Party has gained 68 councillors so far, while UKIP
has lost 62
Turnout is averaging just one or two points below the last
two local elections, reversing predictions of a major drop-off in voters
Theresa May, appearing at the Welsh Conservative conference,
said voters had sent the "simple message" that her party and Labour
had to "get on" with delivering Brexit.
"These were always going to be difficult elections for
us," she added, "and there were some challenging results for us last
night, but it was a bad night for Labour too."
A heckler shouted at the prime minister: "Why don't you
resign?" He was then ushered out of the conference hall in Llangollen,
North Wales.
Speaking in Greater Manchester, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
said he "wanted to do better" and conceded voters who disagreed with
its backing for Brexit had deserted the party.
But Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable, in Chelmsford Essex,
where his party took control of the council, said it had been a
"brilliant" result and that "every vote for the Liberal
Democrats is a vote for stopping Brexit".
Polling expert Prof Sir John Curtice said the days of the
Conservatives and Labour dominating the electoral landscape, as happened in the
2017 election, when they won 80% of the vote between them, "may be
over".
"It looks as though the key message from the voters to
the Conservatives and Labour is 'a plague on both of your houses', as they find
themselves losing both votes and seats on an extensive basis," he said.
But he warned it could be even worse for the two main
parties at the European elections on the 23 May, when "new kids on the
block", the Brexit Party and Change UK, also compete for votes alongside
the Greens and Lib Dems.
Prof Curtice said there was a North/South divide emerging in
the losses too, with the Conservatives shedding more seats in the South -
especially in areas that voted Remain - and Labour losing more in the North.
|
Council change results: sorted by Result descending.
|
COUNCIL
RESULT
|
|
Vale
of White Horse
|
|
|
Winchester
|
|
|
North
Devon
|
|
|
North
Norfolk
|
|
|
Amber
Valley
|
|
|
Calderdale
|
|
Green Party co-leader Sian Berry said she was confident her
party would end the day with a "record number of councillors on a record
number of councils".
She told BBC Breakfast the Greens were not simply benefiting
from a protest vote over Brexit and their gains reflected "huge new
concerns" about climate change as well as the strength of their local
campaigning on a range of issues.
Polls took place for 248 English councils, six mayors and
all 11 councils in Northern Ireland.
This is the biggest set of local elections in England's
four-year electoral cycle, with more than 8,400 seats being contested.
A further 462 seats are up for grabs in Northern Ireland.
It's not over - it's far, far from over.
Many hundreds of seats are yet to declare. Many individual
political stories yet to be told. So be very aware - the final shape of wins
and losses for the government and the main opposition is unclear.
But at this stage of the morning, there is one message to
both of the main parties at Westminster from this enormous set of elections - it's
not us, it's both of you.
Council leaders from both parties are saying openly that
voters can't trust them any more because of how they have dealt with Brexit.
This is a verdict on the competence of Westminster's biggest parties - on the
mess of handling Brexit.
Of the 248 elections in England, 168 have been district
councils which are in charge of setting and collecting council tax, bin
collections, local planning and council housing.
There were also elections taking place for 47 unitary
authorities and 33 metropolitan boroughs which look after education, public
transport, policing and fire services, as well as all the services of district
councils.
In Northern Ireland, councils are responsible for services
including local planning and licensing, waste collection and enforcing safety
regulations to do with food, workplaces and the environment.
England scoreboard
| PARTY | COUNCILLORS | CHANGE +/- |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 1568 | -583 |
| Labour | 1108 | -75 |
| Liberal Democrat | 722 | +379 |
| Green | 85 | +69 |
| UKIP | 18 | -64 |
| Others | 465 | +274 |
FROM .bbc.com/news/uk-politics
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