The Conservative Party is growing increasingly concerned about the prospect of a general election defeat following local elections in which it has been said Rishi Sunak’s “worst fears” were realised. His party lost around 1,000 council seats while Labour gained nearly half the same number. Smaller parties also secured some fairly significant wins, including the Liberal Democrats, the Greens, and the Social Democratic Party, which picked up its second seat in Leeds.
News of the elections, which took place towards the end of last week, was expectedly overshadowed by the coronation of King Charles III. Celebrations are, however, unlikely to have completely distracted the minds of Tory officials fearing for their positions. MP and former minister Justin Tomlinson said:
We’re in a real fight for our lives now. You cannot escape the polls, you cannot escape the results that we just suffered last Thursday/Friday. We’ve got to have our best performers from all wings of the party all rowing in the same direction.
He added that it was “frankly insulting” to suggest the results were anything but “devastating.” An existing, unnamed cabinet minister also told The Times: “We need to get onto an election footing and give people something to vote for.”
The mood will have been far more jubilant in the halls of Labour headquarters since the results, which represented the party’s largest lead over the Tories in local elections since 1997 under Tony Blair, came in. Now under the leadership of Sir Keir Starmer, Labour insists the best is yet to come. Labour gains came, he said, because “we’ve changed our party” and “we’ve won the trust and confidence of voters.”
The party will, however, still need to work hard to secure a victory in the next general election, which will take place no later than January 2025. Polling less than a week after the local elections saw Labour’s lead over the Tories at its narrowest since Mr. Sunak entered office. In an attempt to prevent high spirits from distracting from electoral work, Sir Keir is expected to today tell his shadow cabinet: “The hardest part lies ahead.”
