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. . in England's local elections with Labour losing more than 250 councillors. The main winners were the Tories, who had their best results since 1992. The Lib Dems failed to make much headway.

The result is one of the worst on record for Labour in a local election but the party said it was not the "meltdown" some had predicted.

Nevertheless there were a series of calls for a change of leadership from within the party.

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Note that the London Assembly, Britain's largest local government, is two years into its four-year term and was not affected. Its membership of 25 remains:
Labour 7 (not counting Mayor Ken Livingstone)
Liberal Democrats 5
Greens 2
Conservatives 9
"One London Group" (elected as UK Independence Party) 2

[ 05 May 2006: Message edited by: Wilf Day ]

There is no sign that the electorate has any nostalgia for two-party politics, and even three-party politics now seems distinctly passé:

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The electoral landscape is starting to look distinctly post-Blair. In the very areas where electors responded so warmly to shiny New Labour in 1997 and 2001, they have turned away in droves in 2006.

The Greens are a far more successful minor party than the BNP, but have so far attracted less attention. They fought on a much broader front, while the BNP is a highly localised force that comes and goes. By contrast, the Greens have staying power and have elected effective and durable councillors.

Local elections can provide interesting straws in the wind. The West Yorkshire borough of Kirklees has once again - as it did in 2004 - refused to award any party a higher share of the vote than 25% and its politics are a kaleidoscopic mix of Conservative, Labour, Lib Dem, Green and BNP. An additional element this time was the success of a "Save Huddersfield NHS" candidate. The appeal of purely local politics seems to be growing.

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In London's "Tower Hamlets" George Galloway's Respect-Unity Coalition went from 1 seat to 12, leaving Labour with the slimmest of majorities:
Labour 26
Respect-Unity Coalition 12
Conservative 7
Liberal Democrat 6
Total 51

In Tower Hamlets they elected:

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Rania Khan
Mohammed Abdul Munim
Lutfa Begum
Dulal Uddin
Ahmed Hussain
Shamim Ahmed Chowdhury
Abjol Miah
Mohammed Mamun Rashid
Fozol Miah
Oliur Rahman
Shahed Ali
Waiseul Islam

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as Newham candidate, Hanif Abdulmuhit, emphasises: “Respect is proud to say we defend the rights of Muslims, but we are not a party of Muslims, rather a party for Muslims, as well as Sikhs, Hindus, Jews, Christians, and all faiths and none.”

The party is campaigning on a range of local and international issues. In Tower Hamlets, it is calling for the council to be “the most democratic, green and publicly accountable council in the country. It should put people before profit. The council should defend its residents from the power of big corporations and be a showcase for high quality houses and services.” On international issues, it urges an end to the occupation in Iraq and is against any invasion of Iran. If Respect wins seats in Tower Hamlets and Newham, it will represent a significant vote of no-confidence in the Blair government’s policy on Iraq.

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[ 06 May 2006: Message edited by: Wilf Day ]

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Originally posted by Stockholm:
Shouldn't they have at least SOME candidates on their slate from other groups as well?

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