Unlucky - but congratulations on your party taking its first ever council. Hope for the future.
United Kingdom Local Elections 2023
- Thread starter 09philj
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Also a funny story involving the Lib Dems, a guy who was already a councillor in Greater Manchester stood (legally) as a paper candidate in the Cotswolds... and won that seat too. Although there's no law against representing two local council seats in different councils, he has agreed to resign his seat in Greater Manchester.One of the funnier results is the Lib Dem trouncing of the Tories in Windsor and Maidenhead, where the Conservative leader of the council was unseated by a 22 year old Lib Dem candidate.
Lib Dem, 22, to celebrate election win with family
George Blundell, 22, caused a huge upset when he beat the council leader in Windsor and Maidenhead.www.bbc.co.uk
(For those not aware, a paper candidate is someone who is expected to have no chance, usually does zero campaigning, and just puts their name down for the sake of the party being represented).
There's still two councils left to declare but all the figures I think are now large enough that they won't be significantly changed by those result.
The Conservatives, despite starting from an already weak position from their poor 2019 performance, have suffered a big fat L and lost over 1000 council seats and their majorities on 48 councils. Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and Greens have done well, winning hundreds of new seats each, and even the Greens have managed to take full control of a council. Independents have also been losers this time around, as the anti-established party sentiment of 2019 has subsided a bit.
Up next, Northern Irish local elections on the 18th.
The Conservatives, despite starting from an already weak position from their poor 2019 performance, have suffered a big fat L and lost over 1000 council seats and their majorities on 48 councils. Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and Greens have done well, winning hundreds of new seats each, and even the Greens have managed to take full control of a council. Independents have also been losers this time around, as the anti-established party sentiment of 2019 has subsided a bit.
Up next, Northern Irish local elections on the 18th.
The issue with this is that Stamer makes it really hard to like him.
This is a case of the governing majority coalition annihilating the minority Tory opposition, which is humiliating in its own way.
So for those of us not in the UK, what power does a council have/how far does it extend, for context?
With the greens overrunning politics, the local shrubbery will overrun the island within 5 years, god help them.
Alternatively:
Last edited:
They run local services (waste management, public sector housing, social care, etc) and make decisions on local planning for housing developments, as well as larger scale developments (eg town centre regeneration plans, transport).
I'm not sure what their involvement is in things like schools.
Oh yeah true. Mary Lou McDonald is actually a good speaker who proposes ideas that might help people. Kind of forgot about Starmer being a wet blanket Blairite.
You may joke, but I do remember a piece on Radio 2 earlier this year where local residents were complaining about the dangers of overgrown weeds and such where the green council had stopped spraying the pavements with weedkiller for a few years and it had apparently lead to a few pensioners tripping over. The day of the triffids is nearly upon us!
In the UK, local councils run many of the schools (local authority schools). the central government hands the local councils money to run these schools, and the local council is then responsible for distributing money, ensuring schools have proper management, are properly maintained, equipped and staffed, that the schools meet the educational needs of the local area, etc.
However, about 20 years ago the central government also created "academies" which are basically semi-privatised schools: whilst funded by central government, they are run by independent trusts / companies that are directly answerable to central government. This was originally put forward to deal with heavily underperforming schools, as it was believed academies could more effectively drive improvement (evidence is mixed - there is support for improvements in some areas). Later, the Conservative government decided the entire sector would be better mostly out of local council control, and have greatly expanded the academy system so that most pupils in the UK are now educated in an academy school rather than a traditional local authority school.
I have some sympathies for Starmer.
He's not a particularly charismatic leader. He's pretty good in a debate chamber, but he's not going to inspire the public that much.
But a lot of the rest of the issue is with Labour. Labour is effectively a party with PTSD from all its lost elections over the years, where even when the Tories have been an utter shambles they still squeaked through on the back general right-wing press bias and the enduring myth that they are the "natural party of government", which offers them a credibility far beyond the evidence of their accomplishments. This means Labour tends to feel an intense drive to play safe.
Secondly, for all the issues with Blairites trying to undermine Corbyn, we absolutely cannot underestimate just how toxic Corbyn was to a lot of voters. When the "red wall" of post-industrial towns fell, campaigners report two issues that collapsed their vote: Brexit and Jeremy Corbyn. Not even the fuckery of the Blairites can explain just how much Corbyn put a lot of voters off: and these were often working class voters that Labour used to be able to expect to carry with ease in constituencies Labour needs to win. Secondly, Corbyn scared the living shit out of a load of older, middle and upper class voters who were energised to put extra effort into stopping him. As a result, anything with a whiff of Corbyn is off the table, and that includes more adventurous left-leaning policies.
Its kinda hard to be a left leaning politician. If you try to move society away from the one created by Thatcher and Reagan you're instantly deemed an extremist and the press will team up to destroy you, but if you just stick to the left of the status quo those same people will deem you a wet blanket who doesn't stand for anything.
That is an evergreen feature, not a bug. Leftists are not meant to win. Just ask the CIA about their "Jakarta Method" for those who stray too close to success.
The Jakarta Method - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
-
Non-book documentary called The Act of Killing too;
The Act of Killing - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Last edited:
He should expel every elected or candidate member of the Labour Party to give them all a nice boost at the polls.
There are local elections in Northern Ireland today. Politics in the six counties is very distinct and they have their own political parties. These are divided into Unionist, Nationalist, and Other, depending on whether they oppose, support, or have some other stance on Irish reunification. The main parties are:
Sinn Féin (Nationalist) - Sinn Féin are left wing and strong advocates for Irish reunification. They have historical connections to Republican terrorism but have mostly managed to move past that. They are currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly, although that body is currently not meeting for reasons I will attempt to explain in a moment.
Democratic Unionist Party (Unionist) - Very right wing and conservative, strong advocates for NI remaining part of the UK. They have historical connections to Loyalist terrorism. They are currently the second largest party in the Assembly. The Assembly works through a system of mandatory coalition which was created to ensure both Unionists and Nationalists have a voice in how NI is run. In protest at the government in Westminster's handling of NI in regards to Brexit, the DUP are refusing to participate in the Assembly, so it can't function.
Alliance (Other) - A non-sectarian liberal party. Alliance mostly appeals to liberal unionists so could be considered to be an implicitly unionist party. They are advocates for reforming Northern Ireland to attempt to move it away from the sectarianism that has defined much of its recent history, particularly by desegregating the schools (which are often very Catholic or Protestant) and by doing away with the mandatory coalition in the Assembly so it can't be held hostage by any one party.
Ulster Unionist Party (Unionist) - More moderate in their conservatism and unionism than the DUP, the once dominant UUP are fighting a losing battle to avoid being squeezed out by the DUP and Alliance.
Social Democratic and Labour Party (Nationalist) - More moderate in their left politics and nationalism than Sinn Féin, the SDLP are fighting a losing battle to avoid being squeezed out by Sinn Féin and Alliance, and doing a worse job of it than the UUP.
Traditional Unionist Voice (Unionist) - The DUP are extremely conservative and unionist but they have in the past taken part in the mandatory coalition with Sinn Féin which is far too moderate for some people, hence the creation of the TUV which is like the DUP on steroids.
People Before Profit (Other) - Actually officially support Irish reunification but as part of an international socialist revolution, because they are Trotskyists.
Sinn Féin (Nationalist) - Sinn Féin are left wing and strong advocates for Irish reunification. They have historical connections to Republican terrorism but have mostly managed to move past that. They are currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly, although that body is currently not meeting for reasons I will attempt to explain in a moment.
Democratic Unionist Party (Unionist) - Very right wing and conservative, strong advocates for NI remaining part of the UK. They have historical connections to Loyalist terrorism. They are currently the second largest party in the Assembly. The Assembly works through a system of mandatory coalition which was created to ensure both Unionists and Nationalists have a voice in how NI is run. In protest at the government in Westminster's handling of NI in regards to Brexit, the DUP are refusing to participate in the Assembly, so it can't function.
Alliance (Other) - A non-sectarian liberal party. Alliance mostly appeals to liberal unionists so could be considered to be an implicitly unionist party. They are advocates for reforming Northern Ireland to attempt to move it away from the sectarianism that has defined much of its recent history, particularly by desegregating the schools (which are often very Catholic or Protestant) and by doing away with the mandatory coalition in the Assembly so it can't be held hostage by any one party.
Ulster Unionist Party (Unionist) - More moderate in their conservatism and unionism than the DUP, the once dominant UUP are fighting a losing battle to avoid being squeezed out by the DUP and Alliance.
Social Democratic and Labour Party (Nationalist) - More moderate in their left politics and nationalism than Sinn Féin, the SDLP are fighting a losing battle to avoid being squeezed out by Sinn Féin and Alliance, and doing a worse job of it than the UUP.
Traditional Unionist Voice (Unionist) - The DUP are extremely conservative and unionist but they have in the past taken part in the mandatory coalition with Sinn Féin which is far too moderate for some people, hence the creation of the TUV which is like the DUP on steroids.
People Before Profit (Other) - Actually officially support Irish reunification but as part of an international socialist revolution, because they are Trotskyists.
All seats in NI have now been counted. Here's how everyone did:
Sinn Féin: 144 (+39)
Very good result for Sinn Fein who won the most seats, won seats where they've not won them before, and have spearheaded Nationalist parties getting more local government seats than Unionist ones for the first time.
DUP: 122 ( ±0)
Mediocre result for the DUP have have totally failed to benefit from the collapse of the UUP and have watched their arch enemies Sinn Féin storm to a clear victory. Still, they've not lost seats overall, so it could have been worse.
Alliance: 67 (+14)
Good result for Alliance who have managed to win some extra seats, consolidating their position as the third party in NI, although they may be disappointed they didn't take more.
UUP: 54 (-21)
The UUP's inexorable slide into political irrelevance continues.
SDLP: 39 (-20)
The SDLP's inexorable slide into political irrelevance continues.
TUV: 9 (+3)
Given the turbulent state of Unionist politics at the moment I think the TUV will be disappointed they didn't take more seats.
Green Party: 5 (-3)
I forgot to mention these above because they were wiped out at the last Northern Ireland Assembly election. Anyway they're a left leaning Green party which is nonsectarian and identifies as Other in the Assembly, when it has seats. Their backward slide continues.
People Before Profit: 2 (-3)
A bad result for the other lefty Other party too.
Overall 40.5% of votes went to Nationalist candidates, 38.1% went to Unionist candidates, and 21.3% went to Other candidates. The Nationalists will make a big show of being ahead of the Unionists, but I suspect a majority of voters are still unionists, given that the biggest Other party a large amount was Alliance, which was historically a Unionist party and is still supported more by Unionists than Nationalists.
Sinn Féin: 144 (+39)
Very good result for Sinn Fein who won the most seats, won seats where they've not won them before, and have spearheaded Nationalist parties getting more local government seats than Unionist ones for the first time.
DUP: 122 ( ±0)
Mediocre result for the DUP have have totally failed to benefit from the collapse of the UUP and have watched their arch enemies Sinn Féin storm to a clear victory. Still, they've not lost seats overall, so it could have been worse.
Alliance: 67 (+14)
Good result for Alliance who have managed to win some extra seats, consolidating their position as the third party in NI, although they may be disappointed they didn't take more.
UUP: 54 (-21)
The UUP's inexorable slide into political irrelevance continues.
SDLP: 39 (-20)
The SDLP's inexorable slide into political irrelevance continues.
TUV: 9 (+3)
Given the turbulent state of Unionist politics at the moment I think the TUV will be disappointed they didn't take more seats.
Green Party: 5 (-3)
I forgot to mention these above because they were wiped out at the last Northern Ireland Assembly election. Anyway they're a left leaning Green party which is nonsectarian and identifies as Other in the Assembly, when it has seats. Their backward slide continues.
People Before Profit: 2 (-3)
A bad result for the other lefty Other party too.
Overall 40.5% of votes went to Nationalist candidates, 38.1% went to Unionist candidates, and 21.3% went to Other candidates. The Nationalists will make a big show of being ahead of the Unionists, but I suspect a majority of voters are still unionists, given that the biggest Other party a large amount was Alliance, which was historically a Unionist party and is still supported more by Unionists than Nationalists.
I think the relatively hard ideological divide in NI has softened a great deal in the last 20-30 years; as indicated by the Aliiance, there's a much greater proportion of voters who are ambivalent or pragmatic. This may also mirror a decline in religious affiliation in NI: although Catholics have recently overtaken Protestants as a proportion of NI's population, what's very notable is the increase in people who don't identify as either, which has increased from under 10% to approaching 20% in the last decade alone. (Also, a significant minority of Catholics are not nationalists.)
I would be tempted to say that the sectarian religious character of NI likely drove a great deal of religious affiliation as it was extremely important to reflect one's community. With the easing of tensions, that pressure to identify as Protestant / Catholic has declined, and the result is a growth in non-religious sentiment towards similar sorts of levels seen in the rest of the West.