- Conservatives hold on to power at local elections
Local elections in the U.K. last week can be considered an important indicator of the political climate in the country. Since the EU referendum in June 2016, a lot of upheaval occurred in the country, and the general election last year showed a clear shift towards the Labour party, driven mainly by young pro-EU voters. However, the last elections showed a different picture. Britain’s populist U.K. Independence Party (UKIP), which played a major role in the run-up to the 2016 Brexit referendum, suffered almost a total wipeout in Thursday’s local elections in England. UKIP lost 92 seats in local councils, after the steady hemorrhaging of support since the Brexit referendum. The party held onto only three seats after results from 99 out of the total 150 councils were up for grabs in local elections.
The shift from UKIP voters towards Conservatives is significant. The ruling Conservative Party has benefitted from shifting UKIP votes to win in a few councils and has managed to hold onto central London councils and main Labour targets in the election - Wandsworth, and Westminster. Labour also failed to take Barnet council, losing it to the Tories.
In total, 4,371 seats were contested across 150 local authorities in the first major test of public opinion since last year's general election. Out of 150 local authorities, Labour won 74, Conservatives won 46; Liberal Democrats got nine while ‘No Overall Control’ in 21 local authorities was registered. The Tories won Barnet and Redditch and gained from the collapse in the UKIP's vote to take Basildon and Peterborough from ‘No Overall Control’. But swings to Labour in London mean that overall they have lost councillors compared to 2014 when these seats were up for grabs.
-What does the results tell us over all?
Although it is difficult to compare a local election with a nationwide general election, the results, however, can reflect shifts among the voters. It is obvious that Conservatives will continue to benefit from the switching of UKIP votes while Labour support remains strong.