Starmer’s tenure appears to have doubled Greens’ popularity while Labour’s popularity goes backwards, but you’d never guess from the coverage
The UK media have spent much of the weekend – or of what little hasn’t been rammed with coronation sycophancy, at least – telling viewers and readers how last week’s local elections were disastrous for the Tories but, to quote for example the BBC, ‘Labour and the LibDems performed strongly’.
With regard to Labour, at least, this is pure spin. Starmer’s party stood still at best – peppered by some truly appalling collapses – in voting terms, falling far short of the vote share required for a general election majority, while the Tories fell past them.
The LibDems performed quite well, but the outstanding story of last week’s local elections – apart from Community Independent triumphs in Liverpool – was the Greens, who more than doubled their number of councillors in the contested wards from 240 to 481 and now hold 770 seats overall, after pundits predicted they would lose many.
And one of the main drivers of the Greens’ success has, according to the data, been Keir Starmer – whose success in conning Labour members to vote him in to run the party (into the ground) coincides with the skyrocketing of the Greens’ electoral fortunes:
This trigger-point may well be playing a major role in why the media are so silent on it, along with the fact that it puts Labour’s drab standstill into proper perspective: the media have cosseted and protected Starmer ever since he lied his way to the party leadership and commenced his purge of Labour members and his war on their democracy.
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I voted Green for the first time in my Ward in Canterbury. 2 Green and 1 labour councillor won for precisely that reason. Ex labour members are switching to Green. Tories have lost their stronghold of Canterbury council for the first time, due to Labour , Libdem. And Green parties.
“The LibDems performed quite well, but the outstanding story of last week’s local elections – apart from Community Independent triumphs in Liverpool “
Did they really?
I am struggling to see how the LCI starting off with 6 councillors in post prior to the election then standing 9 candidates in the election and ending up with only 3 councillors can in any way be construed as a triumph.
It does prove that standing against Labour as a left independent or Green after being unjustly purged from the party on false accusations of bigotry doesn’t mean certain electoral doom.
And it DOES mean it’s time for Keir to stop attacking the Left more brutally than the Tories, espescially given that the Left never, at any time, deserved the treatment Keir meted out to it.
Care to finally admit it’s gone too far, SteveH?
Ken – Do the maths
246
The maths tell us there is not a Snowballs chance in Hell of your man winning a majority
The maths tells us he is Bankrupting the Labour party
The maths tell us the Socialist group will have you by the balls after GE then surely hearts and minds will follow
Liverpool Labour lost 9 seats, but Steve H is in denial.
George – ❗PROVE IT❗
It’s three less smarmerites.
Correction – it’s six less.
Corrected correction: it’s six FEWER! Sorry, couldn’t resist it. I’ll get me coat…
Toffee – Before the election Labour held 58 seats on Liverpool’s council and after the election Labour now hold 61 seats.
Before the election the LCI held 6 seats which they had won standing as Labour candidates and after the election in which they stood as LCI candidates they now have 3.
Do the maths
https://skwawkbox.org/2023/05/05/breaking-gorst-williams-see-off-labour-in-garston/#comment-243712
SteveH it is a triumph, because the candidates didn’t have the resources of the Labour Party at their disposal plus after the redraw of boundaries, some LCI’s candidates were standing in wards they weren’t well know.
I believe too, that it was a mistake for Maria Toolan to stand as the only LCI candidate in a ward electing two Cllrs.
Still Alan Gibbons standing for re-election in the ward he was a incumbent got 4 times the vote of the Labour candidate.
Still thinking that Corbyn cannot win if he decided to fight in Islington North?
Maria – The likelihood of Jeremy Corbyn even standing in the next General Election reduces with each passing day that he continues to dither and prevaricate.
Labour did well in Stoke where it won overall control for the first time in several years.
Keir Starmer, Jess Phillips, Rachel Reeves and Ruth Smeeth went to campaign there. And yet, Labour still somehow managed to win.
Stoke was labour – until keef defied democracy and shithoused the second ref through (And Snell’s reselection iirc)
Now keef’s gonna make brexit work.
But apparently it wasn’t brexit in 2019 turned off labour voters.
No.
It was Corbyn.
Toffee – “But apparently it wasn’t brexit in 2019 turned off labour voters.”
For once we can agree on something
https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/inlineimage/2019-12-23/Why%20did%20people%20not%20vote%20labour.jpg
Ken – Do the maths
From the gawp who insists that 17.4 million is LESS than 16.1 million.
And that 48% is MORE than 52%.
You’ll be telling people how and when to use question marks, next.
Toffee – You are telling lies again.
Yeah, ok.
Why don’t you ask who believes me and who believes you. You’ll neither like nor accept the answer you get.