Your interpretation of the word "most" was wrong in that respect then as I was referring to most meaning more than anyone else (e.g. I have the most sweets, Man City have the most points in the PL etc). You "correcting" me on this was an error on your part. I recall you saying the Tories won the most seats in the GE (which they did). It seems you "flip flop" to suit your "narrative".

Also they may have been defending more seats but so far they have also gained 37 and the Tories have lost 2 (net).

I agree local issues will have had an impact.

[Link]

This is a good analysis of why the results were as they were.

I imagine a GE would result in much the same result as it did a year ago.

My take on the election results. Hugely disappointing if you are a Labour / Corbyn supporter.

Governments don't usually do well in mid term local elections as the voters punish them for perceived mistakes or broken promises. If you are the opposition party you would expect significant gains and would use this momentum (geddit) to push forward at the next GE.
Labour have made some gains but the Tories have held their ground and I am sure they are delighted.

Labour was hoping for some shock Tory scalps such as Westminster (due to Grenfall)and it never happened. If I was a Labour party strategist I would be worried. This is not a great Tory government and the election has been held only days after the Windrush and Breast Cancer scandals and still the vote stood firm.

Corbyn is going to have to do a lot more to win over floating voters and shy Tories. Right now if we held another GE I suspect the results would be broadly the same as the last one. Sooner or later the Tories will get their act together, so how much longer can Labour keep letting them off the hook.

At the last GE much was made of Labour's performance because so little was expected of Corbyn. However if you step back and look at the actual result if that had been Ed Milliband it would have been called a failure.

As for the other parties UKIP are finished. The Lib Dems made some minor prgress but where was the Pro EU / Remain protest vote? It never happened.

Edited by Badger11 (04 May 2018 11.26am)

Edited by Badger11 (04 May 2018 11.31am)

One more point

My initial reaction is that the Tories will be more relieved this morning, whilst Labour must be gritting their teeth.

Yes, Labour ended up with more seats but must have expected to do much better but what matters more to them is the specifics of how they lost certain seats and failed to gain control of specific councils that they had poured a lot of resources into.

Corbyn now faces the reality that those from within his own party can continue to attack him from a variety of directions with both the antisemitism accusations along with not being able to regain the core white working class vote having even more of a validity.

In boxing terms, you might be able to claim the round as a draw but the Tories must harbour hopes that they have weathered the best Labour can throw, along with regaining some confidence that they can get back into the fight whilst Corbyn is looking over his shoulder at those in his own corner looking to stab him in the back and wondering if they might be more successful now.

Edited by Matov (04 May 2018 12.00pm)

Edited by Matov (04 May 2018 12.16pm)

"The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." - 1984 - George Orwell.

Never expected a decimation at all - It was Labour who expected such an outcome and they have been hugely disappointed.

As for UKIP,I know a number of UKIP supporters, quite a few who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and they are certainly NOT racists at all.I don't hold the view that being pro UK and controlling immigration is "Racist" at all but this is another debate.Let's concentrate on the local elections.

I did like the Conservatives' plans to treat knife crime as a mental health and public health problem, in conjunction with usual crime stuff. That approach worked really well in Glasgow whose knife problem has reduced drastically.

That tipped my vote for them.