Labour suffered a bruising night in the local elections losing scores of seats across the country.
Early research suggests the party has fallen into third place nationally with 24% of the vote, beaten by the Tories on 44% and Lib Dems on 25%.
So far they are the worst local poll results for Labour in 40 years.
In the Black Country there was no change as the Tories held onto Walsall and Dudley and the Labour group maintained its power at Sandwell. Cannock remains as a hung council.
Wolverhampton were due to start counting at 9.30am.
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12 Comments
Living under the Tories in Walsall is no different to living under Labour. So where is the change ……….?
it will not make any difference who,s in control they are all in it for themselves first thing they will do give themselves a pay rise and cut more services they should start and look after the people who live in this countrty first thats who put them where they are now
Labour and Conservatives - Two cheeks of the same EU controlled backside.
Whoever wins,we loose!!!
What a waste of votes in Cannock.
As Whitehall controls 75% of what our councils do through funding related targets and the EU makes demands and threats over recycling and waste - it really makes little difference who controls the councils. Its whoes in at the top that counts.
Walsall’s tory councillors always prided themselves on having a low council tax. All well and good but the town’s become backwater with too many costly things to sort out. They’ve only just go their finger out and sorted the ring road! Do councillors know Birchills exist as I didn’t see one campaigning in the past fortnight.
Peter (and Ian and Jonah),
I can see where you are coming from in your conclusion that Labour and Tory Councils are the same. Lots of other people presumably think the same, and that’s why they don’t bother to vote.
Yet there are political parties other than Labour and Conservative. If you think about it, if you want to succeed as a politician, then you’d want to join a party that has a chance of winning, wouldn’t you? Therefore the Labour and Tory parties are full of pompous buffoons who simply want to be elected, rather than because they believe in anything. Tories steal Labour policies, and Labour steals Tory policies - as you say, the differences are negligible.
But what about small parties? People stand for the Green Party because they genuinely believe in those principles, which are usually radically different from the mainstream parties. So, if you want to vote for a party that stands for fairness, common sense and standing up against greed, corruption and established interests, then vote Green.
Another angle to look at is complacency. Look at Sandwell Council - the councillors there have no fear of ever losing control of the Council, and as a result they lack any ideas, vision, vigour or charisma. They need a kick up the *rse, but the voters keep voting for them like sheep. As a result, the Council continually scores poorly, lags behind in productivity and deprivation scores and continues to be a ****hole.
The state of the country and of local areas is controlled by someone - we are not where we are now by accident. Therefore we can assume that we would be in a different place had people in the past voted differently. Therefore we can conclude that voting is incredibly important and makes a massive difference, it’s just that the process is so slow and gradual that it’s difficult to notice.
Don’t lose heart - we have the vote and we should use it. We don’t want to live in Belorussia, or Zimbabwe, or Russia precisely because they are governed by tyrants, where elections are mired in fraud and corruption. Yes, Labour and the Tories are responsible for where we are now - but not the voting system.
Just try and vote them out and the next elections.
I’m starting to lose faith in politics all together. There doesn’t seem to be one stand out party that represents the ‘average joe’ on the street
Usually those that whinge, have not even voted - I suggest those who feel they are hard done to get into politics in order to start making a difference. Otherwise, put up and shut up.
Rebecca, your exactly right, I wouldn’t vote Labour if they offered me a £1000 tax free, also I wouldn’t vote Conservative because I remember what happened under Maggie.
I voted Lib Dem, I could have just as easily have voted for the Green party, or any Independent party, not because they are so good but because I wanted to be counted among the people that get off their backsides to vote, I will also be making my voice heard on regular occasions that I think I have a genuine grievance about the way our council are doing things.
The problem with this country is that its people have spent their whole lives perfecting the art of apathy.
I have no doubt that we will continue to see the regular comments in this facility, moaning about the council doing nothing, but when you ask the moaners what they have done to change things and the answer is always the same, “nothing” or “they are all the same” well yes they are all the same but they are also YOUR COUNCIL, they are there to do Your wishes, if you sit there like a dummy,don’t complain when things don’t get any better.
I cant wait to see how many people who have been complaining about the high cost of fuel, the high cost of living, the rip of system of car parking charges especially at hospitals, who have actually bothered to vote, I predict it will be the usual 30% of the voting population, that means 70% of the population, like what Gordon Brown is doing to our lives, they like paying in excess of £5 a gallon for fuel, they like having to pay £300 to retrieve their cars after they have been towed away because they overstayed their parking by 5 minutes.
Jim of Bearwood
Tracey No 10 - you are right and I have and do you know what? It makes me as mad as hell! The more I learn the more I see this country going down. It has always been bat and ball with the labour and the conservatives and all they ever do is spend years undoing what the last government did just in time for the next lot to get in and do the same - WASTE OUR MONEY!!! They will go down in history - as the government that ruined our country!